The Night of the Victorian Plot part 2 - Welcome to America
by BarkingatJim
Summary: A sequel which is AU. Having followed Herr Lieblosen to America the English James and Artemus are having way too much fun but Doctor Loveless soon puts an end to that. Equal digs at America and Great Britain.
1. City of Berlin

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 1

 **The City of Berlin**

This is a sequel to TNOT Victorian Plot. I guess this has become an AU story as I am now moving the boys from England to America where there is no other Artie and Jim. I'm hoping to have some fun with them as they come up against their arch-enemy Herr Lieblosen for a second time. Once again I am forced to apologise for my shaky knowledge of history and geography, domestic and American, and also because I have made some things up for the sake of the plot.

As James West and Artemus Gordon of the British Foreign Office disembarked in New York from the steamship The City of Berlin they were met on the dock by a representative of the United States Government.

Colonel Richmond recognised the two Englishmen from their appearance but felt it necessary to confirm his conclusion. He approached the two men who were standing on the dock with their luggage.

"Mr West, Mr Gordon?" he asked.

"Yes," Jim replied, holding out his hand.

Richmond shook it and that of Artemus Gordon as well. "I'm Colonel Richmond of the US Treasury Department and on behalf of President Grant I would like to welcome you to the United States of America," he told them. "I have a carriage waiting. If you would like to come with me I will take you to your hotel."

"Thank you," James said.

"Tomorrow, once you have rested from your journey, we will travel to Washington DC where you will meet with President Grant."

James and Artmeus exchanged a look. The business they were engaged in must be really important if it involved the President of the United States.

"All I can say is that I hope there's a cup of tea waiting for us at the hotel," Artemus said.

Richmond smiled to himself. _These two have a lot to learn_ , he thought.

Colonel Richmond left the two men at their hotel with a promise to meet them again at nine o'clock the following morning. Having booked in at reception Artemus asked if they could have some tea sent to their room.

"What do you mean, you don't serve tea?" Artemus almost choked on the words.

"Tea is served on Sunday afternoon only, Sir," the waiter told him, letting them know they were not staying at one of the better hotels. "Coffee is available or I have some 'erbal tea if you'd like."

"Do you mean herbal tea?" Artemus queried.

"And no, we wouldn't like any, thank you," James added after taking one look at his friend's face. "Just bring a pot of boiling water and two cups up to our room, if you wouldn't mind."

"Did I forget to mention that there is no room service?"

Artemus growled.

"In that case we'll have the water brought to our table in the dining room," James said.

"Very good, Sir. Will you be having dinner now?"

"Yes," James replied, taking Artemus' arm and leading him in the direction of the dining room.

"What was all that about the boiling water?" Artemus queried once he was seated at a table.

"I have some Earl Grey stashed in my hand luggage," James revealed. "I'll just go up to our room and fetch it. I won't be a moment."

"Good man!"Artemus told him.

James returned to the dining room just as the hot water and the cups arrived at their table. He poured some of a packet of tea into the pot and then produced a silver tea strainer from his pocket.

"You think of everything," Artemus smiled.

"This is not the ideal way to make tea," James apologised, "but we've drunk it in worse circumstances than these," he added, instantly taking Artemus' thoughts back to the Crimea.

"Beggars can't be choosers," he agreed.

After they had drunk two cups each of the bergamot-flavoured tea, the two Englishmen ate a dinner of steak and potatoes, drank more tea, and then decided to call it a day and went up to their room. They had already accepted that the US Government was not prepared to waste any money on their accommodation and so after undressing down to their long-johns they made no complaint, except for a loud sigh from Artemus, as they both climbed into the bed they were expected to share and slept on dry land for the first time in a week.

James and Artemus ate a hearty breakfast of cinnamon pancakes, eggs and bacon. The meal was accompanied by several cups of bitter-tasting coffee.

"We really have to buy some lighter-weight underwear," was the matter uppermost in Artemus' mind as he tucked into the delicious food.

"I agree. The weather here is much warmer than at home and I've noticed that people here dress more casually as well."

They were packed and ready to go when Colonel Richmond arrived with a carriage to take them to the railroad station.

"The journey should take about four and a half hours," Richmond told them as they took their seats. Artemus and James sat side by side while Richmond sat opposite them.

"Are you going to take that time to tell us something about the assignment you have for us?" James asked.

"I could but I would rather wait until we are with the President. Also I believe there are more important things to discuss."

"Such as?" Artemus asked, curious.

"I think we should start with your clothing."

"What's wrong with tweed?" Artemus asked, looking down at his grey, three-piece suit.

Richmond gave him a pointed look.

"What are you getting at?" James asked. "You're not expecting us to wear those newly invented blue denim reinforced trousers are you?"

"No," Richmond replied with a smile. "But you need to blend in more with the men you'll meet on your assignment, something suitable for when you're on horseback."

"Horseback?"

"Yes, that's mostly how you'll get about while you're here. Isn't that how you do it when you're in England?"

"In London we use hansom cabs," Artemus said.

"And when you're not in London?"

"We hire a dog cart."

"A dog cart – drawn by a dog?"

"No, a horse," James said with a grin.

"But you do know how to ride a horse?" the Colonel asked anxiously.

"We've ridden in the army and at weekends, in the park," Artemus said.

"Then you'll be all right," Richmond said, relieved. "Look, don't worry about buying new clothes. I'll arrange for suitable items to be delivered to your quarters when we arrive in Washington."

"There is one thing," James said, looking pointedly at Artemus.

"What? Oh yes, in the matter of underclothes," Artemus said.

"What is it?" Richmond asked, intrigued.

"We're going to need something a little less heavy than the long johns we brought with us," Artemus said.

Richmond laughed. "Don't worry, I'll deal with that too," he said.

"Do you think he's laughing at our long johns?" James whispered to his partner.

"He'd better not be," Artemus whispered back.

For the rest of the journey they talked, among other things, about the journey from England – not as fast a crossing as when the City of Berlin won the blue ribbon the previous year – the differences in the weather, and if it would be possible to get a cup of tea whilst on the train.

They arrived in Washington in time for a late lunch before heading for the White House and their meeting with President Grant.

To be continued


	2. The Evolution of Doctor Loveless

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 2

 **The Evolution of Doctor Loveless**

Wishing to keep their meeting as low-key as possible Colonel Richmond escorted James and Artemus from the Whitehouse library, through the passageway to the President's office where Ulysses S Grant rose from behind his desk to greet his guests.

"I'm glad to meet you at last," he told them, taking each of their hands in turn in a two-handed handshake. He indicated that they should both be seated and then leaned back on his desk and, taking a cigar from the nearby humidor, offered them one. They declined so he bit one end off his and lit the other before taking a few sturdy puffs on it to get it going. Then, after blowing a smoke ring into the air he looked at the two Englishmen and asked, "Has the Colonel told you anything yet?"

"No," James replied. "All we know is that we were ordered by our superior at the Foreign Office, Lionel Carruthers, to travel to your country to take up an assignment for your Treasury Department. We assumed it was something to do with counterfeiting as I understand that is their remit as regards investigations."

"You are very astute, Mr West, however the Treasury Department has a far wider oversight than that. In fact it houses the Secret Agents of the United States whose task it is to undertake any assignment to do with the safety of myself and the Government of this fine country and to root out any threat to that safety."

James and Artemus looked at each other meaningfully. The whole thing sounded like it was right up their street.

The President caught their silent communication.

"I am aware of the secret assignments you undertake for the British Government," he said, taking another puff on his cigar. "That was one of the reasons why I asked for your assistance."

"What is the other reason?" Artemus asked.

"Because you have come up against Herr Mikkel Lieblosen in the past," Colonel Richmond interposed.

"Herr Lieblosen?" James said.

"Yes," Grant replied. "Only these days he is calling himself Doctor Miguelito Loveless."

"So he made his way to America when he left England; we wondered what had happened to him," Artemus said. "And he has taken on a title and changed his name to a Spanish version of it; how enterprising."

"Lieblosen holds a doctorate in Physics and Chemistry, he just never bothered to use the title of Doctor before but it serves his purposes now. As to the name, he claims to have Mexican ancestry. His German grandfather married the daughter of a Mexican General as far as we have been able to discover."

"I suppose it would be ridiculous to ask if you're sure this is the same man," Artemus said.

"Oh it's him all right," Richmond answered. "We identified him from a photograph we obtained from the University of Stuttgart in Germany which is where he studied for his doctorate."

"You still haven't told us how Doctor Loveless came to your attention," James said. "What crime has he committed?"

"He turned up in a small town in New Mexico called Nueva Atenas and not long afterward a band of, for want of a better word, cut-throats arrived and camped on the outskirts. Groups of these men periodically make visits to the town and harass the citizens, so much so that many of them have left from fear."

"You think there is a connection between Loveless and these men?" Artemus asked.

General Grant looked him straight in the eye. "I'm absolutely certain of it, but as to his motive, well there you have me completely baffled." He threw his hands in the air. "What do you make of it, Colonel?"

"That's what we need you gentlemen to find out," Richmond said, looking at James and Artemus. "I'm sending you to the town and I want you to find out what's behind all this and put a stop to it."

"We're at your service, Colonel Richmond," James answered for them both while Artemus nodded in agreement.

"I've booked you into a hotel in town," Richmond said. "There's a conveyance outside to take you there. I'll have someone fetch you tomorrow morning."

James and Artemus nodded to the two men and gave each other a look that was filled with knowledge the Colonel and the President didn't comprehend. They looked at the two agents shrewdly as they watched them leave the way they had come in.

As soon as they were in the carriage taking them to their hotel Artemus said one word to his friend.

"Gough's Peak!"

It was the name of a small, bleak town in the north of England where a few years back a hard-faced stranger had arrived and booked a room at the local inn, followed by a vicious band of ne'er-do-wells who camped in the surrounding countryside. They had used intimidation to force the people to either leave or bend to their way of running things. The ringleader turned out to be none other than the stranger whose name was Mick Trayne. One of the residents had been brave enough to talk to the local police but their small force had proved ineffectual against a vicious band of men armed with knives and clubs. The two secret Government agents had been sent undercover to put a stop to things. They found out that, although Trayne had let it be known that he was intent on taking revenge on the townspeople and the town itself because of a wrong done to him in the past, his actual motive was to rob the town's bank.*

"Do you think Loveless has the same thing in mind?" James asked.

"I'm keeping an open mind for the moment but the situation in Nuervo Atenas does sound similar," Artemus replied.

James nodded, his mouth becoming a grim line. They had not emerged totally unscathed from their confrontation with Trayne all those years ago. And now they had to go up against Lieblosen or Loveless as he was calling himself and as far as they knew he was every bit as dangerous as the Yorkshire man had been.

They spent the rest of the afternoon drinking tea, with Artemis bemoaning the lack of decent biscuits for dunking. He didn't have time for the things called cookies that people kept trying to force on him and he was even less impressed when he was presented with a scone with his dinner and was informed that _that_ was a biscuit.

"Everyone's gone stark-staring mad," Artemus growled as they retired to their room. This time there were twin beds and he sighed with pleasure as he plonked himself down on one of them. "It will be a lot cooler without having to share a bed with you," he announced.

"I'll try not to be too insulted by that," James replied. "Anyway, tonight I'm going to remove the long johns and unpack a pair of pyjamas," he added.

"Well mine have seen me half way across the Atlantic and they'll do for tonight," Artemus responded.

James shook his head and left to use the men's bathroom which was next door. The US Government was certainly treating them better in Washington than they had in New York.

He returned twenty minutes later, still rubbing the inside of his ear dry with the corner of a towel. "How far do you think it is to this Nueva Atenas?" he asked.

"According to the map I brought with me from England it's about fifteen hundred miles."

"FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES!" James shouted in surprise, thrusting the towel to the floor for good measure. "I sincerely hope The President doesn't expect us to cover that distance on horseback."

"I suspect they'll put us on another train," his partner pointed out. "There's only one thing that bothers me."

"What's that?"

"Where will we find enough tea and biscuits for a journey of that length?"

"Hmm…" said James, and they both got into bed with the problem weighing heavily on their minds.

The following morning followed the same pattern as the previous one, though breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs with bacon and hash browns and the coffee was not quite so bitter. Either that or they were getting used to it.

"Are we returning to the White House?" James asked the Colonel on his arrival.

"No, I'm taking you both out to the railyard," Richmond told them. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes, our luggage is in the hotel lobby. It only needs for you to pay our bill and we can depart straight away.

Colonel Richmond having taken care of this request the three men entered the carriage that was at the front of the hotel and, as soon as the luggage was stowed on the back, they set off for their destination.

The two Englishmen exchanged a small smile. They had guessed correctly that their journey to New Mexico would be undertaken by train. But the carriage didn't stop in front of the railroad station as they had expected. They had already learned that the term was 'railroad' rather than 'railway' as in England. Instead, they were conveyed to the actual yard where trains were stored when out of service.

The two men looked quizzically at the Colonel but he simply indicated that they should leave the carriage. Once on the ground he led them over to a locomotive engine with a typical cow-catcher on the front. It was painted in forest green and on an iron plate affixed to the tender was written "Traveller".

To be continued

*Yes this is the plot of TNOT Cut-Throats, with subtle, (or not so subtle), differences. Well done if you noticed that Nueva Atenas or New Athens is the name of the town in that episode.


	3. The Traveller

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 3

 **The Traveller**

Walking along the track side they could see attached to the engine three carriages or cars. When they reached the last car there was a backplate with a rail around it and a gate through which one could gain access to the train. They followed Colonel Richmond through the gate and onto the backplate and through a door into the first car. This was set up as a sitting room, with a couch and two armchairs and a fireplace, with a speaking tube to one side.

"That's so you can communicate with the engineer while the train is in motion," Richmond explained.

The far end of the car was closed off to provide space for a small room and when they entered they found themselves in a galley. There was a pot-bellied stove with a coffee pot on the top and a saucepan and a frying pan hanging from hooks on the wall. There was also a small sink fed from a reservoir with a counter top and some shelving. The food supplies consisted of cured meats and sausage, also canned and dried goods including coffee.

"Any cooking you do will be rudimentary but at least you won't starve when you are a long distance from the nearest town," the Colonel commented.

"So this train is to be our transport to New Mexico," Artemus said,

"I thought that was obvious," was the reply. The Colonel was already entering the next car. The two Englishmen exchanged a grin and followed him.

Next they came to the sleeping quarters which consisted of two single beds and a chest and a wardrobe to store their clothes. There were several boxes stored on the floor.

"I'll leave you two to unpack those," Richmond said.

On the wall was a painting of the White House which Colonel Richmond slid upwards to reveal a collection of knives and firearms. There were also gun-belts hanging from the wall below the painting.

There was a screen behind which stood a bath and a water-closet, also in the second car.

The third car was empty but it was obvious that it was meant to be used as a stable. There were various items of tack hanging up and other necessary equipment for the care of horses. A supply of horse-feed had also been included. There was also a six foot by three foot cell with bars and a door with a heavy-duty lock.

"To bring Dr Loveless back with you to Washington," the Colonel informed them, seeing their puzzled expressions.

The two men looked at each other with wrinkled noses, imagining the horror of being locked in with horses for the fifteen hundred mile journey. It almost made you feel sorry for the prisoner, or the horses, depending on your point of view.

"Of course you have to catch him first," Richmond reminded them.

"What's next?" James asked.

"Now I need to introduce you to the engineer and fireman."

By the time they returned to the engine there were two men, dressed in oil-stained overalls and caps, busily readying it for departure.

"James West, Artemus Gordon, I'd like you to meet Nate Fowler and Otis Johnson, the engineer and fireman for the Traveller."

Fowler and Johnson wiped their hands and held them out in greeting.

"Nice to meet you," James said. Artemus nodded a greeting to them both.

"So you're the two limeys we were expecting," Fowler said.

"That's right," Artemus said. "I suppose we'll get to know each other better during the journey."

"No way of avoiding it," Johnson piped up.

"Where will you sleep?" James asked.

"There are bunks underneath the tender," Fowler said, "and we sleep out in the open if the weather's good and there are no dangerous animals about."

"And we cook our own grub," Johnson said, "but we share your supplies."

"No problem," James said.

"I'll leave you two to it then," Richmond said, turning to leave. He beckoned to the two Englishmen to follow him.

James shrugged at the engineer and fireman as if to say 'sorry, looks like this meeting is over'.

Richmond headed back to his carriage talking as he went.

"I've had my driver put your luggage on board for you. The train will leave as soon as she's ready to depart. Fowler will let you know when."

They saw two horses being led toward them and Colonel Richmond stopped and told them they should become acquainted with their mounts before they arrived in New Mexico. "They're both excellent animals," he said as they watched them being loaded into the stable car.

They had only been on board the Traveller for a short while when Nate used the speaking tube to tell them that the train was about to pull out of the yard and onto the railroad. James and Artemus were in the sleeping car, going through the boxes Colonel Richmond had left for them. James went through to the parlour car when he heard the noise from the speaking tube and acknowledged the message before returning to his partner.

"This box has your name on it," Artemus said.

James opened it and looked at the pile of shirts, cravats and ties.

"We won't have to do any laundry for a while," he commented.

"Take a look at these!" Artemus said, holding aloft a pair of thigh length black-knit underclothes. "I'm going to change into these as soon as we've finished in here."

"Yes, all these clothes are better suited to this climate," James commented as he came across several pairs of cavalry twill trousers in another of the boxes. "Have you seen the brocade waistcoats?"

"They must be a gift from the Colonel to help us feel more at home," Artemus chimed in. These suits are a bit outrageous though." He had opened the wardrobe and found several hanging up there, in his size. "It's the colours that are the problem," James said, walking over to take a look at them. "Grey is alright and the burgundy one is very smart but I really don't like the blue one with the piping and the green one needs to be set fire to."

"Well maybe I'll just wear the trousers. I have a couple of Jackets in tan corduroy and leather I can wear."

James shrugged. "Maybe we should just wear what we've been given. The Colonel's aim was for us to fit in after all," he added, noticing that his own suits were of a slimmer cut and quite flattering to his more toned physique.

"Yes, you're right of course," Artemus replied. "And I've been thinking about that," he added, sitting down on one of the beds. James joined him.

"What is it?" James asked.

"I think I ought to adopt an American accent."

" _You_ ought to? Don't you mean ' _we_ '?"

"The thing is I've been trained as an actor…"

"More like you picked it up during a misspent youth."

"Anyway, I have experience with accents and you don't." He paused and then said with an American accent, "I'm a keen student and I believe I could pass as a native."

"That's not bad," James said grudgingly. "But we need to pick up some American vocabulary."

"I think I have just the thing," Artemus said, pulling a small paper-backed book out of his inside jacket pocket. "I picked this up at the newsstand in New York when I left the hotel to try and find an English newspaper. It's called 'Cowboy Thrill Magazine'* and the way the characters in the stories speak is just what we need to learn."

"Let me have a look at that!" James said, snatching the magazine from his hand. "This is amazing," he said. "We can learn a lot about life in the west too."

"That's what I thought. It will take you a while before you can pass as an American though."

"What do you suggest I do in the meantime?"

"Well you should probably stick to saying 'yep' and 'nope' for the time-being."

James nodded and went about putting his new clothes away while repeating the two words in the best American accent he could muster.

"Oh and there's one more thing," Artemus said.

"What's that?"

"If we want to fit in I think I should address you as 'Jim' and you should call me 'Artie'."

"Do we have to?"

"Yes."

"Don't you mean 'yep'?"

Artie threw a boot at him.

When it was time for lunch Jim and Artie were already dressed in their new clothes. They went to the galley and decided to have some bread and sausage.

"A bottle of beer would go nicely with this," Artie said, "what a pity we don't have any."

"I still have some tea in my luggage," Jim said.

"We're American now," Artie proclaimed. "Let's have a cup of coffee. Have you ever made coffee before?"

"No, when I want to drink coffee I go to a coffee house and someone else makes it."

"Okay. That's American by the way,"

"Very good."

"Okay, why don't I sort out the food and you try to make a pot of coffee."

"Okay."

It took him twenty minutes.

"Yeuchhh!" Artie said, in an attempt to expel the nasty taste of the bitter, muddy liquid Jim had poured into a cup for him. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't think it's all that bad," Jim replied, rather offended by his friend's reaction.

"I am the only one allowed to make coffee on board this train from this moment until my dying breath," Artie decreed, "which will be significantly delayed if I don't drink any more of this filth." He backed up his words by going to the galley and throwing the rest of the contents of the coffee pot out of the window.

"Fine by me," Jim said with a hard voice. "If you want me you'll find me in the stable car."

Artie sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. Living together in such close confinement wasn't going to be as easy as he'd thought.

To be continued

* Well done to those of you who remembered that this is the magazine Jim is reading at the start of 'The Night of the Turncoat'.


	4. Dinner for Four

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 4

 **Dinner for Four**

"What we could both do with is a cup of tea and a biscuit," Artie said, entering the stable car with a tray holding a teapot, (which was actually the erstwhile coffee pot), two cups and some sugar.

There was a plate of biscuits which were still warm and Jim realised that Artie had baked them himself. He had been so absorbed in the job of brushing the black gelding's coat that he hadn't noticed how much time had passed.

"You didn't have to do this," Jim said.

"I wanted to. It's an apology for earlier."

"Thanks," Jim replied, pouring himself some tea and picking up a biscuit. "You baked them twice," he said in wonder. "They're really crisp."

"Well, if it's worth doing…," Artie said, putting the tray down on the bench in the cell and pouring a cup for himself. He dunked a biscuit into the hot liquid and took a bite before saying, "I see you have already chosen which horse you want."

"Is that a problem?"

"Not at all; I know you are fussier than me about what animal you ride."

"Nonsense, I've heard you brag about the magnificent horse you had with you throughout the Crimean war."

"Yes, but when you are in the thick of battle the quality of your mount is a matter of life and death. Now I just want a capable horse to get me to our destination."

"Actually Richmond was right when he said they were both excellent animals. There's not much to choose between them."

"I suppose I ought to join you in getting to know my mount," Artie added, picking up a brush. "Do we know their names?"

"Yes, the man who brought them on board left a note. The black horse is called 'Nightfall" and the Mare is called 'Ariadne'.

"Hmm," Artie said, looking them over, "I think the names suit them. I can't wait to try them out."

"That'll have to wait," James said. "We ought to be practicing being Americans."

"Okay, sure thing," Artie replied, getting into the spirit of the thing and speaking like a character in the magazine. "I'll clear away the tea things and I'll meet you in the parlour car."

After poring over the 'Cowboy Thrill Adventures Magazine' Artie had compiled a short list of useful words and was happy to explain some of them to his partner.

"A buckaroo is a cowboy who breaks wild horses or broncos. He's also known as a bronco buster."

"Is that going to be of any use?" Jim queried.

"Well of course the nature of the magazine makes it of limited relevance to our situation," Artie said. "But if anyone uses those words at least we'll know what they're talking about."

"Okay, let's hear some more."

"Peacemaker, that's another name for a Colt simple action army handgun. And coffin varnish means whisky."

"I can see those being helpful," Jim said.

"This is a good one, they call public houses saloons and they have dancing girls."

"I wouldn't mind visiting one of those."

"Then there's 'skedaddle' that means to run away in panic."

"Let's hope we don't have to use that."

"And we have to remember to say 'I guess' instead of 'I suppose'. We can also use 'vamoose' which means 'let's go'.

"But do you think two men in our position would really speak like that?"

"I ' _guess'_ not," Artemus said with a grin.

"Oh very good," Jim said.

"No, you have to say 'great'."

"This is all very interesting but I still don't think these words are going to help with us much with speaking like Americans," Jim said.

"Maybe we need to talk to Nate and Otis and see what they think," Artie suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," Jim agreed. "Let's invite them to dinner tonight."

"Yee-haw!"

"What?"

"Sorry – it's an expression of exuberance."

"Great!" Jim deadpanned.

In the end Artie prepared a delicious thick stew of bacon and beans and took two plates of it out to Nate and Otis, along with two forks. Jim carried two more plates out for him and Artie and also crusty bread for mopping up the gravy afterwards.

Although it was not their usual fare the two Englishmen found themselves enjoying the meal. When they had finished eating Jim took the plates back to the galley and fetched two extra cups so that they could join in drinking some the coffee Nate had brewed. It was really good and Artie looked at Jim who nodded and, willing to admit their ignorance, they asked the engineer how he had made it.

This made the two Americans laugh and things became relaxed enough between them for Jim and Artie to tell them their language dilemma and ask for their help in trying to pass as natives. Artie began by trying out some of the words he had learned from the magazine.

"You can forget all that," Nate told them. "That's just cowboy slang. All you really need is to work on your accent and speak normal except without talking so all-fired fancy and stuck-up."

"Fancy and stuck-up?" Artie queried.

"I'm not awfully sure what you mean," Jim said.

"And there it is," Otis said, laughing.

"Hmm, I think I see," Artie said. He leaned over to whisper in Jim's ear so as not to offend their dinner guests. "I think they want us to speak more like the English lower orders," he said.

"Ah…," Jim said, nodding in agreement. "You've been very helpful, gentlemen."

Because the two agents planned to leave the train for a while the next day they woke early and, after breakfast, discussed the matter of how they would arm themselves ready to meet Loveless.

"We're not in England anymore," Jim pointed out. "Walking canes with hidden guns and umbrellas with knives for handles are fine on the streets of London but they're no good here. We need to find something else."

"We should conceal our weapons another way," Artie said. "I was thinking we could hide small knives in our clothing."

"Great idea; under the collars of our jackets would be a good place. What about firearms though?"

"In the magazine, I read about an ingenious device that what they call a 'card-sharp' was wearing up his sleeve. It allowed him to conceal a gun which, in a split second, could be dropped into his hand and he was able to shoot his opponent under the poker table."

"That sounds just the thing," Jim said, "but where would we get one of those?"

"I reckon I could make one," Artie said, still trying out his American whenever he remembered. "It's a simple enough principle. But I don't have a workshop or the materials, let alone the right size of gun," he added wistfully.

"Well, never mind, we can at least make sure we carry a lock-pick with us. They've always come in handy in a tight spot.

"Great," Artie said. "But if only we had some incendiary devices."

"None would be small enough for us to carry on our person," Jim pointed out.

"True." He sighed. "If you give me your jacket I'll fix the knife and lock-pick for you and you can saddle up the horses. Deal?"

Jim nodded. "Fine," he said. "I'll meet you in the stable car when you've finished." He was hopeless at sewing and Artie wasn't that fond of horses so it seemed the best division of labour. He scratched his head. It was funny that he had started thinking of the other agent as 'Artie' now, even in his thoughts. This country must be having a strange effect on him.

About half-an-hour later the Traveller pulled into a small town to take on fuel and water and, by prior arrangement with Nate Fowler, the two agents took the opportunity to lead Nightfall and Ariadne out of the stable car in order exercise them. Both of the men were intrigued by the saddles as they were very different from the ones they were used to at home, being both bigger and heavier.

"There's a holder for stowing a rifle," Jim said, "So I took the liberty of putting one in each of the saddles."

"Good idea," Artie said, mounting the chestnut mare. "This saddle is really comfortable, like sitting in a chair," he remarked once he was in place. "I could ride for miles like this."

Jim agreed. "Let's give them their heads," he said.

With that the two men turned their horses out towards the wide-open country.

Fifteen minutes later they had reached a tract of sandy soil with scrubby bushes dotted around. Jim and Nightfall were in the lead as the ground became more uneven and they slowed the animals to a walk. He thought he heard a strange noise but looking around he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Artie was two or three paces to his right and out of his eye-line picking his way through some rocks.

Suddenly Artie cried out as his horse reared up. Jim turned in time to see him lose his seat and fall heavily to the hard, stony ground. Jim rode over to him and noticed a large snake a couple of feet from his head. In seconds he had taken the rifle from his saddle and put a bullet through the reptile's brain before running to his friend's side. Artie had landed among the rocks where he lay unconscious, a slow trickle of blood flowing from a wound on his head.

To be continued


	5. Twenty-Four Hours

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 5

 **Twenty-four hours**

Jim leaned down and lifted Artie's head while saying his name. There was no response and Jim's hand came away covered in blood. He checked for a pulse and found one that was faint but steady. He knew he had to get his partner back to the Traveller. He looked around for Ariadne who had come to a halt a few yards away and still looked a little skittish so Jim slowly took her reins in his hands before leading her over to where Artie lay.

"Sorry I have to do this, Artie," he said as he lifted the unconscious man and hefted him onto Ariadne's back leaving his head dangling down on one side and his booted feet on the other.

He then got back on the gelding and rode as fast, and safely, as he could back to the train, leading Artie's horse by the reins.

Once he arrived back at the Traveller Jim led Ariadne into the stable car and left the two horses there while he half dragged, half carried his friend into their sleeping quarters and laid him on his bed. He made sure that Artie's condition had not worsened, not that he would have known what to do anyway if it had, and then got back on Nightfall and rode into town to look for a doctor.

It was a small town so it didn't take too long to find the doctor's office. As Jim entered he saw a young man sitting at a desk.

"Are you the doctor?" Jim asked.

"I'm Doctor Oakley," the young man replied. "That's an English accent you have there isn't it?"

Because of his urgent need for someone to help his friend Jim had forgotten that he was supposed to be using an American accent. He didn't think he could get by on saying just 'yep' and 'nope' anyway so he just shrugged.

"Yes it is," he said. "But that's not important. Doctor, I urgently need your help. My colleague has been thrown from his horse and hit his head on a rock. He's wounded and unconscious."

The doctor grabbed his hat and his medical bag. "Take me to him," he said.

It was only a five minute ride across town to the railroad and on arriving at the Traveller the doctor lost no time in examining Artie. He began by lifting the unconscious man's head to look at the wound.

"It's still bleeding a little," he said, "and there is a mighty big lump as well. Thankfully it is hard and not soft so it should go down in a few days without much of a problem. However, the fact that your friend has been unconscious this long is a little worrying."

"Why's that? What's wrong?"

"I'd say he has suffered a concussion. You'll need to keep an eye on him, even after he regains consciousness – if he does."

"What do you mean, 'if'?"

In some cases the patient falls into a coma. There's not much you can do about that except wait to see if they come out of it on their own. I'll clean the wound and bandage it but that's as much as I can do. I'll also leave you something for the pain. _If_ he comes round he'll have the mother and father of all headaches. Now go and fetch me some water and a cloth."

Jim was glad for something to do, to be of some help. He'd felt totally useless up until then. When he returned the doctor began tending to Artie's wound and Jim began pacing up and down the carriage. He couldn't even think about what this might mean for their assignment and knew he should contact Washington about the inevitable delay in reaching Nuevo Atenas. On top of that he realised that he needed to see to the horses and to tell Nate that the train would not be departing that afternoon. His thoughts were brought back to Doctor Oakley when he asked, "What caused him to fall from his horse?"

"What….? Oh a snake spooked it. I shot it dead – the snake not the horse," he clarified. "It made a strange rattling noise."

"Sounds like a rattlesnake," the Doctor said. "Your friend was lucky not to get bitten. What is an Englishmen doing in these parts anyway?"

"Just travelling on business," Jim lied.

"Well that's as much as I can do," the doctor said, looking down at his patient. Artie's face was almost exactly the same colour as the bandage around his head. His lips also lacked their usual hue. His appearance caused Jim to wonder if the doctor was right and Artie wasn't going to come out of this.

Doctor Oakley placed a comforting hand on Jim's arm. "I've seen a few of these cases. There's always hope so don't give up on him too soon."

"Thank you, doctor," Jim said, taking the laudanum that Dr Oakley handed to him.

"How much do I owe you," Jim asked.

"Ten dollars will do fine."

Jim paid him with a ten dollar bill.

"Give me a call if you need me," the doctor said.

Jim nodded and escorted the medical man from the train, but didn't stay to watch him mount his horse and ride away. He had to tell Nate the situation and ask him to delay the Traveller's departure until he was satisfied that Artie wouldn't need urgent medical attention. The engineer and the fireman were both shocked to hear what had happened to Artie. Jim had played down the seriousness of his condition when talking to them. There was no point in worrying them. Then he went to unsaddle, brush down, and water the horses and while he was occupied with that he could feel the train being moved to a siding while Nate awaited further instructions.

Having checked on Artie again Jim went to the parlour car and used the telegraph machine to advise Colonel Richmond of recent developments. The reply from Washington was sympathetic up to a point but Jim was ordered not to delay the train's departure for more than twenty-four hours. It was Richmond's opinion that Artie could just as easily recover while travelling towards their rendezvous with Doctor Loveless. Jim screwed the piece of paper on which he had deciphered the message into a ball and threw it across the carriage. Then he was had to calm himself down before returning to see how Artie doing.

He sat on his own bed, next to Artie's, his elbows on his knees and his hands propping up his head as he watched his friend breathing in and out. He didn't know if Artie could hear him or not but he had something he had to say.

"I'm sorry, Artie," he began. "I should have taken this whole assignment more seriously; should have known the dangers. We're out of our element here and I don't even know why we agreed to come. This whole thing's my fault; I should have been looking out for you." He took a deep breath. "Please wake up, Artie, please don't die."

Jim didn't know how long he sat with his friend until he suddenly realised it was seven o'clock and that he hadn't eaten since breakfast but he just couldn't bring himself to prepare dinner when he knew he wouldn't be able to eat anything. He did make himself some coffee though; it was better than his first attempt but still pretty unpalatable.

Acting in line with what he had told Artie about taking their assignment more seriously he decided to go over some maps of New Mexico and the route they would be taking and also information on the position and surroundings of Nueva Atenas. He presumed that, since there had been no further communication from Washington, the situation that prevailed there had not changed. He was not looking forward to crossing swords with Loveless again. He just hoped that Artie would recover by then. That took his thoughts back to his friend. He refused to accept that they had travelled so far just for him to die falling from his horse. They'd been through much tougher things together and survived.

As midnight neared Jim decided to call it a day and went to bed, looking over at Artie before he closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep. It wasn't surprising that he woke up numerous times during the night to check on his friend. But no matter how tired he was or whatever else happened they would be leaving town in the morning.

To be continued


	6. Wait - What?

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 6

" **Wait..what?"**

When Jim woke up early the next morning the Traveller was in a siding, presumably to allow Nate and Otis to have a rest overnight. Otis knocked on the door of the parlour car looking for eggs and bacon and some bread for their breakfast. Jim came out to meet him and went with him to the galley.

"How's Mr Gordon this morning?" Otis asked.

"The same, I'm afraid," Jim replied rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them. He was used to not getting much sleep, from his days in the Royal Artillery, but the events of the previous day had taken their toll on him and depleted his usual high energy levels.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Otis said putting some eggs in his pockets then using a sharp knife to slice the bacon.

"So am I."

"Well, if there's any way Nate and I can be of help you only have to say."

"Thanks," Jim replied with a small smile.

Otis took a hunk of bread off a round loaf and nodded before leaving the way he had entered. "By the way, Nate said to tell you we'll be leaving as soon as we've had breakfast."

"Okay," Jim said, and then he too decided to have something to eat and cooked up some bacon and eggs in a frying pan thinking of the fact that Nate and Otis would be using a shovel for the same purpose. He also made himself a pot of tea and went into the parlour car to eat his meal.

He was on his second cup of Earl Grey when he thought he heard a noise coming from the sleeping car. He put down his cup so quickly he almost cracked the saucer and flew to Artie's side.

As Jim entered the carriage he heard Artie groan again and saw him screw up his features and lift a hand to his head.

"Boy what a hangover! What the hell was I doing last night?" Artie croaked.

Jim put his hand on his shoulder and shook it slightly to get his attention.

"Unless you're a particularly pretty opera dancer then go away and leave me alone," Artie said, still not having opened his eyes.

Jim smiled at his friend's confusion. He obviously thought they were back in London. He didn't know if they had opera dancers in America but even if they did Artie hadn't had time to meet any of them.

"Artie!" Jim said. He was overwhelmingly relieved that Artie had regained consciousness, but he was eager to find out how he was feeling and to give him some pain relief if he needed it though he suspected Artie would refuse the laudanum.

"Is that you, Delacourt?" Artie asked and then sighed. "How can you be so irritatingly animated so early in the morning? You drank just as much as I did last night." Then he gave a big yawn. "Oh, my head!"

Jim smiled. Artie had obviously been dreaming while he was unconscious. He hadn't even known that was possible with a concussion, but he couldn't think of another reason why Artie was under the impression that he was his friend Delacourt from his days in the Rifle Brigade. Unless…..

"Artie, open your eyes and look at me!"

Artie gave a groan that morphed into a sigh, opened one eye and painfully squinted at Jim. "You're not Delacourt," he said.

"No, it's me, Jim."

"Jim…? Jim who?"

'Oh hell,' Jim thought and sat down on the bed with a thump.

Jim was wrong, Artie had taken some of the laudanum for the pain in his head which he claimed felt like more than one Russian cannon was exploding inside his skull. He had then promptly fallen asleep again. Jim had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing in someone who was concussed, and they were nowhere near a doctor's office, so he couldn't ask for advice. As for the apparent loss of memory, Jim took consolation in the fact that although Artie didn't recognise him he hadn't forgotten everything – only the last twenty years. He decided against contacting Washington with the news until he could be certain what was going on with his friend. Being an optimistic kind of person, he still hoped that everything would be back to normal when Artie next opened his eyes. It just had to be.

So, it was with trepidation five hours later that Jim heard Artie groaning awake again. It was obvious that he was still in pain as he lifted his hand to cradle his head and found the bandage wrapped around it.

"What the…? What happened?" he asked, looking over at Jim.

"You fell off your horse, Artie," Jim replied looking at him warily.

Artie put out a hand to him. "Tell me, did we win the battle?"

Jim had no idea to what battle Artie was referring. Being younger than his friend he didn't know all that much about the Crimean war. So, he shrugged and said, "I'm afraid I don't know."

"How can you not know, man?" Artie demanded. "You must have heard. The lack of noise outside tells me that it's over." He winced at the pain in his head and looked up at Jim, really looked at him for the first time. "I don't know you," he said. "Why did you call me Artie? Everyone calls me Artemus." Then he looked down and took in his clothing. "Why am I not in uniform? And where is this place – why am I not with the other wounded men?"

"Artemus," Jim said gently. "You have a head injury and you're suffering from a concussion. You've been unconscious for a while, but you still need to rest. You're confused."

"Confused? What do you mean?"

"This is not the Crimea. The war has been over for a long time."

"What nonsense is this? We attacked the Russian lines this morning. I remember…..I was…." Artie clasped his aching head in his hands.

"That was twenty years ago," Jim said and then worried that hearing those words might be too much of a shock for the other man.

"Twenty years ago? Then, where am I?"

"We're in America."

"America!" Artie cried out and tried to get up off the bed. A wave of dizziness and nausea stopped him for a moment, but he was not the sort to give in whether it was from bravery or stubbornness.

Jim helped him, realising that the best way to convince his friend to come to terms with the situation was for him to see for himself. He placed an arm around Artie's shoulder and supported him with a hand on his arm as he helped him towards the window.

Artie leaned half on Jim and half on the wall of the carriage as he observed the scenery going quickly past outside. He felt his head spin and turned away to look back at Jim.

"We're on a train," he said.

"Yes, but I really think you ought to lie down again."

Artie didn't argue with that idea because the way he felt he knew that if he didn't soon lie down he would fall down instead. He leaned heavily on Jim and allowed him to lead him back to the bed and dose him with some more laudanum. Jim was glad because he hated to see his best friend in so much pain and discomfort. However, he was not so happy ten minutes later when he was just in time to put a receptacle under Artie's chin before he vomited copiously. Thank goodness he had read the signs correctly. That ruled out the need to make Artie any breakfast and Jim watched him until he fell into a light doze.

By the afternoon Artie felt well enough to be propped up on the couch in the parlour car with cushions behind his head and a blanket over his legs but he had still not fully recovered his memory.

As Jim moved around the room, keeping Washington updated via telegraph and fetching Artie cups of tea he could feel his partner's eyes on him constantly, as if he was trying to work out who Jim was and what had made them colleagues and friends. He tried to put himself in Artie's shoes. He had no memory of working for the British Foreign Office or James West and he certainly had no idea what they were doing in America. But to be fair, even Jim was beginning to wonder that.

It was inevitable that Jim would be in charge of making dinner for them; cheese omelettes with crusty bread and butter. He realised that it would need to be something light to take account of Artie still being fragile. In addition, it was relatively easy to cook. After they had eaten, the two men sat in the parlour car. Jim would have liked to smoke a cigar, but he was worried that the smell might upset Artie.

"Do you feel well enough to talk?" Jim asked at last.

"I'm sorry I've been silent for so long," Artie said. "As you can imagine, I've had a lot to take in."

Jim nodded. "I left you alone in the hope that your memory would come back naturally."

"Yes, well I don't think that's going to happen. So, I need you to fill me in on a few things."

"Ask away."

"How did we meet?"

"After we began working at the Foreign Office. To everyone in the service we are just two office clerks, but our backgrounds make us perfect for undertaking secret assignments for the Government."

Artie appeared to mull this over. "If we work for the British Government then what are we doing in America?"

"A year ago we came up against a German Arms Dealer called Herr Mikkel Lieblosen. He got away after trying to assassinate Queen Victoria and came to the notice of the US Government a month or so ago. Because of our experience with him the US Government requested our assistance. We're on our way now to Nueva Atenas in New Mexico to bring in Herr Lieblosen or Doctor Loveless as he calls himself now."

Artie looked at Jim as if sizing him up, deciding if he could trust what he was saying. "Why do you call me Artie?"

Jim couldn't help smiling. "Since we've been on this train we've been trying to pass ourselves off as Americans, to help us blend in when we get to New Mexico. We decided that you would use an American accent and I would call you Artie while you would call me Jim." He chuckled. "You used to be an actor, but I wasn't, so you didn't trust me to get the accent right."

"I sound very arrogant," Artie said with a frown.

Jim shook his head. "No that's far from the truth. The fact is you were right. But if you don't get your memory back in time I don't know if we can go ahead with our assignment anyway."

Artie nodded. "Maybe that would be for the best."

That wasn't what Jim wanted to hear even though he had suggested it. "Okay," he said sadly.

"What?"

"It means 'all right'. You were the one who taught me that," Jim said with a wry smile.

"Oh." Artie heard the sadness in the other man's voice and started to feel guilty for letting people down. He and Jim had travelled all the way from England and now he was expecting him and the US Government to put things on hold while he took time to try and sort himself out. There was a long silence before Artie next spoke.

"Okay," he said, hoping that the use of that word would clue Jim in to what he was about to say. "Let's start from now and forget about me losing my memory, excuse the pun, and you can tell me all about what happened back in London when we first met Doctor Loveless so that I know what to expect when we meet him again."

Jim's face brightened. This was more like the Artemus he knew. "Sure," he said, fancying that he was really starting to get the hang of American speech. "I guess it all began when….

To be continued


	7. What Happened Next

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 7

 **What Happened Next**

By the time Jim had told Artie everything he wanted to know, and all his questions had been answered it was late evening and Jim noticed that his friend showed all the signs that he had a headache, in fact a bad one. Mindful of Artie's convalescent state he bundled him off to bed and knew he must have been right about Artie not feeling too good when he received no argument. Left to his own devices Jim now lit a cigar and made himself comfortable while he puffed on it lazily and went through in his mind how he thought they should tackle the task of capturing the diminutive German and taking him back to Washington with them to reside in the Federal prison there.

It wasn't long before Jim took himself off to bed. He checked to see that Artie was sleeping peacefully was and not in any obvious discomfort before undressing and slipping into the surprisingly comfortable bed next to his. They would reach New Mexico in a couple of days and they both needed to be fit and rested before then. He said a short prayer that Artie would miraculously have regained his memory by the morning.

Both men were awake early in the morning and to Jim's keen eye Artie was looking better than he had since the accident.

"More coffee?" Jim asked, as they sat at the small table in the parlour car, eating their breakfast. He had listened to what Nate had to say about making coffee and the pot currently sitting on the table contained a brew that was far superior to his first attempt but was still not particularly pleasing to the palate.

"No, I'm fine," Artie said, swilling the liquid in his cup around, not quite having the nerve to swallow it. He wouldn't tell Jim that because it would probably offend him.

"In that case I'll clear away the breakfast things," Jim said, standing up.

"Do you have anything planned for this morning?" Artie queried.

"As we're stopping here to load on water and fuel for the engine and food supplies I thought of taking Nightfall for a run," Jim replied, "He's my horse," he added at the quizzical look on Artie's face. "You have a mare named Ariadne. You can join me if you want."

Artie shook his head and then winced. "I think it might shake my head up too much," he said. "Besides which I don't want to have another riding accident."

Jim nodded. "I understand," he said.

"I think I'll go and lie on my bed for a while. I might even manage to do a little reading. I found a book on chemistry in my luggage. I don't know how good my knowledge of the subject is but I might find something interesting in it to help us with our assignment."

"Don't overtax yourself," Jim said. "We're going to need that brain of yours."

Artie smiled and left the parlour to make his way to the sleeping car while Jim left the train and went around to the stable car. He undid the fastener and lowered the side of the car then he climbed the ramp and began to put a harness and a saddle on the gelding.

Jim mounted Nightfall and rode him out of the rail yard and over the tracks. Then he gave the horse his head and galloped him over the nearby grassland. After about twenty minutes they reached a creek. Jim got down and led his horse to the water so that he could take a drink. He checked his pocket watch and realised that he would have to set off back to town in the next few minutes if he was to be on the train in time for its departure. Removing his hat, he wiped his brow with his sleeve and knelt down on the bank. He cupped his hands and used them to bring a refreshing mouthful of the water to his lips.

He tensed as he heard a noise behind him and he turned sharply, going for his gun. There were two men standing in front of him; one was over six-foot tall with a full beard and was grinning, the other was shorter with a scar down the left side of his face. Before he could take in any more of their appearance the short one threw a small, round object at his feet and Jim found himself enveloped in a thick cloud of green smoke. His last move was to fire his gun, but he missed his target by a good few feet. He managed to utter, "What the….?" before he blacked out and hit the ground with a thump.

One of the men tied his hands together and the other did the same to his feet. Then they hoisted him over the back of his horse and led it over to a stand of trees where their own mounts were waiting patiently.

"He's not going to be happy that we didn't bring back the other one as well," the taller man said as he climbed into the saddle.

"Ah well, beggars can't be choosers, Mike," the shorter man replied with a shrug.

Mike wasn't sure the saying applied in their situation but even if it did they would still be in trouble with the boss. However, there was nothing they could do about it now so they turned their horses and led their captive back to their hideout.

Back at the train Artie's chemistry text book was lying abandoned on the bed covers and he was avidly reading the "Cowboy Thrill Magazine". Jim had made him aware of their need to pass as Americans where possible and he found the book really interesting. He had convinced himself that it was a text book of sorts so that he wouldn't feel guilty wasting time reading the stories it contained.

Artie was so engrossed in noting the differences in language that he didn't realise how late it had become until suddenly there was a knock at the door and Otis came in.

"I'm sorry to disturb you but I was wondering if Mr West told you what time he was coming back."

"No, he didn't. Is it time to depart?"

"Ten minutes ago, Mr Gordon. Nate held on because he was expecting Mr West back any minute but we're going to miss our chance to leave today if we wait much longer."

"Did Jim know the departure time?"

"Yes, Sir."

Artie frowned. He hardly knew his fellow agent but he was aware of his background and he would have expected him to be punctual especially when they were on assignment and their timetable depended on it.

"Well we can't leave without him," Artie said. He didn't want to worry the other man unduly but action was obviously needed. The fact that he himself had been injured in a riding accident meant that they were possible if not likely, added to which he and Jim were not familiar with the country which put them at a disadvantage.

"It's probably nothing serious," Artie said. "Jim's horse probably threw a shoe or something. I'll saddle up my horse and go and look for him. By the way, did you happen to see which direction he took?"

"He went across the tracks and headed due west."

"It looks like he wanted to keep the sun at his back. I'll calculate what route he would have taken to avoid having the sunlight in his eyes and I'll track him down."

"I'll let Nate know," Otis said.

Inevitably there came a time when Jim had to regain consciousness. Much like Artie, he assumed at first that his headache must be from drinking too much alcohol, especially as he felt quite woozy and his mouth was incredibly dry. Then he remembered the two men and the green cloud. The bed he was lying on was extremely comfortable and even though he was only capable of opening one eye to begin with he could confirm that he was not onboard the Traveller. The bed was much larger than his cot on the train and there was flower-patterned paper on the walls. When he managed to open the other eye as well he looked around him and noticed that there were no windows which made him realise that he was probably underground.

He sat up warily and noticed a glass of water sitting on a table next to the bed. Gambling from his experience so far that his captor wasn't trying to kill him he drank the contents of the glass and felt a lot better for it. He got to his feet and walked towards a door on the same wall as the bed, which he had not noticed before. He tried the handle and was not surprised to find it locked. He walked around the room examining everything but there was nothing that would help him escape. Then he remembered that he had a lock-pick hidden under his lapel. He was just about to reach for it when the door opened and the tall man with the beard entered followed by the diminutive Doctor Loveless.

"Well Mr West, we meet again," he said in a passable American accent.*

To be continued

*If you want to hear Michael Dunn speak with a German accent (apart from 'The Night Doctor Loveless Died') then watch the film 'Ship of Fools'.


	8. The Havana Cigar

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 8

 **The Havana Cigar**

The last thing Artie wanted to do at this point was go careering around the countryside on a galloping horse. But since he needed to find Jim he compromised and set Ariadne off at a walking pace which only made him feel a little bit nauseous. As far as he was concerned this was the first time he had used the western-style saddle and he was grateful that it made the journey more comfortable. As the day wore on he made the necessary adjustments to direction that Jim would have made earlier in the day only now the sun was no longer behind him as it would have been for his missing colleague. He pulled his hat down further over his eyes as he trudged on. Eventually he began to feel a little better and increased the mare's pace until she was doing a canter by the time he reached a small creek.

Artie climbed down from his horse and looked around him to see if there was any evidence that Jim had been there. It didn't take him long to find his gun lying in some long grass. It had the initials JW engraved on the butt. He could also see from looking closely at the muddy bank that there had been more than one man there and there were marks where boot heels had been dragged across the ground.

Artie frowned. From what Jim had told him they were still a day's journey from Nueva Atenas so he wouldn't expect Doctor Loveless to be in the vicinity but who else would want to kidnap Jim? He didn't believe that it had been the work of common cut-throats of the sort found in London because they would have just taken his horse and anything else of value and slit his throat. No, Jim had been taken for a purpose and he had to work on the assumption that Loveless was behind it. But for now he would return to the train and let Washington know the situation. He needed to talk to Nate as well. The engineer would have to side-line the Traveller until they knew whether they needed to continue to New Mexico or not. As for Artie, he would return to the creek later and try to track Jim and his kidnappers. He would also need a disguise if he were to confront the evil German. He remembered the fun he had during the Crimean War, posing as a Russian soldier, spying out their plans, totally accepted by the other men. He could speak Russian like a native and his German was pretty good too. He started to feel a thrill course through his blood at the thought of the adventure that lay ahead of him.

Jim had been taken under escort from the bedroom to the parlour. This meant climbing a staircase to an upper level, confirming his belief that he had been underground. Loveless was all charm and yet there was something of the shark about him that was never far from the surface.

"Please be seated, Mr West," he said as the shorter of his two henchmen, whom he remembered from the creek, pushed Jim into an armchair.

Jim looked around him. The furnishings were rich and he was surprised when he looked to his right to see a beautiful woman sitting serenely as a well-fed cat in an armchair identical to his own.

"Let me introduce you to my cousin, Antoinette," Loveless said. "I'm happy to say we are what the Americans call 'kissing cousins'." He smiled at the woman and she smiled back at him.

Jim smiled and nodded in her direction. "I must say this is all most civilised," he commented.

"I'm affronted that you should imagine that it would be otherwise," Loveless said with a slight frown. "I pride myself on being a man of education and principle."

"Of course," Jim replied. "Please accept my apologies. I meant no slur upon your reputation as a host."

"Well said, Mr West. I am happy to accept your apology." Loveless smiled but then his expression became one of sadness. "However I'm afraid I'm still going to have to kill you," he said.

"Are you sure?" Jim asked. "We were getting along so well."

"I'm afraid so. You see you have been the cause of my one and only failure when you destroyed my plan to assassinate Queen Victoria. Besides that I was forced to come to this country though that I do not hold entirely against you because I find more freedom and scope here to do what I want and I have met my beautiful cousin Antoinette as well. But the rest I do blame you for."

"I was only doing my job," Jim protested. "You can't blame a man for doing that."

"Your job, as I recall, was to look after the German delegation, not to meddle in my affairs."

"Yes but any Englishman would deem it to be his duty to interfere with whomever necessary when the life of his queen is in danger."

Doctor Loveless stamped his foot angrily. "You are a pest, Mr West. I will put an end to you."

"If you're so keen then why haven't you done so already?" Jim asked. "I have been at your mercy since the incident at the creek."

Loveless began pacing up and down, his hands clasped behind his back. "That is a sore point with me. My men were supposed to bring Mr Gordon back with them as well. But I'm not going to kill you until I have him too."

"Then you're out of luck because Artemus is not with me."

"Don't lie to me!" Loveless shouted. "I know he came with you from London."

"He did," Jim said. "But what you do not know is that his horse had an altercation with a rattlesnake and he's now in a coma."

"No, no, no!" the little doctor said, stamping his foot again. "I don't believe you."

"That's not my problem," Jim said.

"Oh I think it is, Mr West," Loveless said coming to a halt in front of him and looking up at him. "As Mr Gordon will not be joining us there is no reason for me not to kill you right now."

Jim kept his expression as bland as he could though inside his mind was racing. He had managed to save Artie but at the cost of his own life. He didn't mind that so much; what he was focused on now was how to get himself out of his predicament. But Loveless had more to say.

"But these things mustn't be rushed but savoured," he said. He had calmed down and was now smiling. Somehow that worried Jim more than when the little man had been angry. "Yes, I think I shall have some fun with you, Mr West. What do you say, Antoinette?"

Jim looked over at her and only now noticed that she had a needle and thread in her hand and she appeared to be sewing something.

She smiled at Loveless. "I'm looking forward to it, my dear," she said.

"But with all this talking I have forgotten my duty as a host," Loveless said. "Will you share a cigar with me, Mr West?" He walked over to a small table on which a humidor was standing. He opened the lid and extracted two cigars, handing one to Jim who looked at it suspiciously.

"It is from Havana," Loveless said, biting the end off of his cigar. One of the henchmen rushed over and struck a match to light the other end. Loveless pointed to his 'guest' and the henchman hurried to light Jim's as well.

Jim puffed warily on the cigar but soon realised it was one of the best he had ever smoked. "Thank you," he said. However, before much more of the cigar had been consumed Loveless gestured to his two henchmen and they pulled Jim out of the chair.

"I'm afraid it's time for you to return to your room," Loveless said. "You can enjoy the rest of your cigar there."

Jim was glad to be going back to the basement room as he could carry out his plan to pick the lock and escape but once he was there he began to feel so ill that he only just managed to lie on the bed before he passed out, the cigar falling to the floor. One of the henchmen came in and retrieved it, smiling at Jim as he turned to leave.

Artie directed a piercing gaze at himself in the mirror. He had to make sure that no-one would be able to penetrate his disguise – well actually Doctor Loveless was the only one who counted as no-one else had met him before. That didn't make him feel any less nervous because he wasn't about to underestimate the German.

He had already contacted Washington with the news of Jim's kidnap. It was not completely bad news as it was most likely that Loveless was behind it and that meant that Jim had been given a chance to infiltrate the enemy's territory.

Artie had also talked to Nate and they would stay in town and look after the Traveller while Artie was gone. All he needed to do now was go back to the creek and track Jim's kidnappers back to their hideout. Placing a trilby on his pomaded curls, Artie took one more glance in the mirror, winked at his reflection and went to saddle up Ariadne before setting out.

Meanwhile, Jim was waking up and thankfully this time he didn't have the symptoms of a hangover though he did feel a little nauseous. The first thing he noticed was that he had on different clothes to the ones he was wearing when he laid down on the bed. He had on a pair of black trousers and a bolero jacket of blue corduroy. His shirt was white and he was wearing a string tie. Even his leather boots were different.

He combed his fingers through his hair in puzzlement. It was only when he heard the door opening and he looked over to it that he realised that the bed he was lying on was massively bigger than it had been. But he was even more alarmed when Doctor Loveless entered the room and was a giant compared to him.

"Well, Mr West," he beamed. "How do you like being six inches tall?" Then he laughed and laughed and Jim put his hands over his ears to shut out the awful noise.

To be continued


	9. The Anonymous Tenant

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 9

 **The Anonymous Tenant**

By the time Artie reached the creek for the second time it was several hours since Jim ha gone missing. Thankfully the weather had remained dry and Artie was able to see where horses' hooves had made marks in the now dried mud and by following those hoof prints could tell what direction they had taken.

If Artie had not lost his memory of the last twenty years he would have known that his skills had been honed when he and Jim had followed the signs an escaped killer had left as he travelled across Dartmoor. The ground had been soft and made an ideal surface for following foot marks. But when those weren't evident there were other signs to look for, many of which Jim had taught him, a skill he had picked up during his time on the Royal Artillery when on the Canadian campaign.

Following the signs, Artie rode and sometimes walked, leading his horse, for several hours until he came to a small town called Gerhard Flats in Oklahoma* Territory. Artie's enquiries took him to the land office where he rang a bell on the counter and came face to face with a man in his fifties with grey hair and glasses, who looked like a strong wind could blow him away.

"What can I do for you, Mister?" he asked.

Artie thought it best to answer in an American accent so as not to draw attention to himself.

"I'm looking for a house to buy, somewhere out of town," he said, "With some land attached."

"There aren't any for sale at the moment though one of the owners who is renting their property out might be agreeable to selling."

This was very helpful to Artie as it was rented property he was really interested in.

"So, there are a few rented properties around here, are there?" He asked.

"About half a dozen."

"I have business in the area and what I'm looking for is a house from which I can base my operations; something fancy if you know what I mean."

"I see," said the man, "There's only one house that would fit the , but it's already occupied."

"Tell me the tenant's name. Maybe I can persuade him to hand the property over to me," Artie suggested.

The man opened a drawer and withdrew a ledger. He opened it at a particular page and checked what was written there then he closed the book.

"Sorry Mister," he said. "The tenant wants to remain anonymous. The only thing I can tell you is that he owns a cat. I know because he specifically asked if the owner allowed pets."

This was sounding more and more promising and an idea was forming in Artie's mind.

"Can you give me the name of the previous tenant and directions to the property?" he asked.

"Can't see a problem with that," the man said, taking the ten dollar note that slid across the counter towards him.

Loveless approached the bed and Jim acted instinctively, dreading the humiliation of being held aloft in the Doctor's hand. So he rolled over to the side as quickly as he could; slid down the counterpane and ran under the bed. There was a certain amount of dust and fluff but he could easily put up with that. His undoing, however, came in the shape of a long-haired, ginger and yellow-furred cat. He crouched as silently and still as he could, but it stretched out a giant (from his perspective) paw with claws unleashed and batted at him. Jim backed away, but the cat followed him. Before long it had chased him out from under the bed and into Loveless' waiting hands.

"Well done, Brunhilde," Loveless said to the cat. He stroked her head with one hand while he held Jim in the other. Brunhilde purred.

Jim stayed absolutely still; in the belief that to struggle would only humiliate him further and provide entertainment for his captor. Loveless ignored him until he had finished petting the cat. Then he turned his attention back to his tiny captive.

"I hope you like your new outfit, Mr West," he said, "All sewn by my dear Antoinette."

Jim didn't reply. He was basically boiling mad inside but was trying to hide it from Loveless to whom he was trying to portray an appearance of unconcern.

Things got even worse after Loveless said, "She loved playing with dolls when she was a little girl so she was happy to dress you."

Jim tried not to think about Antoinette seeing him naked but even so he was certain that his face had gone a fiery red. He couldn't remember the last time he blushed and he looked down so that Loveless wouldn't see and have something else to taunt him with.

"You're probably wondering how you ended up like this," Loveless said.

Jim wasn't, but he felt it was safest to go with that. "I guess you're going put me out of my misery," he said.

"I synthesised a powder that when inhaled or swallowed shrinks the subject down to roughly six inches, depending on their original height." He smiled and gave a small laugh. "I put some of that powder in the cigar I gave you."

"That did seem the rational explanation," Jim replied. He had regained control of himself. "But why would you do that?"

"I mean to put my powder into all the water supplies in America to shrink down the whole population. That way I will be the tallest man in the country and no-one will be able to look down on me again. You were my guinea pig and now I know that it works I can go ahead with my plan."

"You're mad!"

Loveless scowled. "I am not mad! I am not! No I won't let you make me angry," he added, calming down but still frowning. "It's always the same. People like you can't possibly understand genius so you stick to your narrow-minded prejudices when you are presented with something outside of your sphere of experience."

"Yeah, that's what it is," Jim said sarcastically. "What happens if you accidentally ingest some of the powder?"

"I have the antidote of course," Loveless said. He carried Jim over to the mantelpiece where he picked up a small phial. "This is it. I've put it well out of your reach. However, I'm not willing to let you run around getting into all sorts of trouble so I've come up with a solution."

To Jim's chagrin Loveless walked over to a table on the other side of the room and he saw a cat carrier sitting there. Loveless opened the top and dropped Jim in and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I shall have to leave you now," Loveless said, closing the top.

Jim sat in the almost darkness with the only air to reach him coming through the air holes in the box. He couldn't reach the fastening and he had no tools to help him. He sat in one corner and thought about Artie and what he was doing.

After booking a room in the local hotel for the night so that he could freshen himself up and get rid of the dirt from his journey, Artie had been busy at the printers in Gerhard Flats having some business cards printed after which he followed directions to a house about five miles out of town where he hoped he would find Jim.

In answer to his knock at the door a tall man with a beard faced him and asked, "What do you want?"

"I Sir, am an agent of the ASPSCA," Artie announced. "And I wish to speak to the owner of this house."

The man frowned at him "Uh?" he said.

"The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals," Artie said, in explanation.

The man seemed to understand because he asked Artie in and then left him in the hall after saying he would fetch his employer.

Artie decided to wander closer to the door through which the man had disappeared as he could hear singing. In fact the singing was quite beautiful and he followed the sound until he opened the parlour door and went inside. He recognised the German folk song 'Dort in den Weiden Steht Ein Haus'.

The singers were a small man Artie recognised as Lieblosen, now Loveless, and his singing partner was a beautiful woman who was playing a harpsichord. The large man with the beard was waiting for the song to end before talking to Loveless.

As the song came to a close Artie stepped forward. "Delightful," he said. "That was absolutely delightful. The best I have ever heard it sung."

Loveless turned to him. "You are familiar with the folk song?" he queried.

"Ah yes, I believe the American translation would be 'There is a House in the Pastures'."

Loveless laughed. "That is right. You speak German?"

"A little," Artie replied, "What I have learned as a boy from my parents. They came to America from Germany before I was born."

"May I introduce my cousin, Antoinette," Loveless said.

Artie approached her and brought her hand to his lips. "I'm enchanted," he said.

"I'm pleased to meet you Mr..er…"

"My name is Adolphus# Mayer," Artie said handing his card to Loveless without taking his eyes from Antoinette.

Loveless looked at Artie. He saw a neatly-dressed man with a trim beard and moustache, a pince-nez perched on his nose and a trilby hat in his hand. He read the card and asked, "What can I do for you, Mr Mayer?"

Now came the hard part, getting Loveless to believe what he was going to say next. "Well…..," he began, tearing his gaze from the beauty in front of him.

To be continued

*Michael Dunn was born in Oklahoma so by setting part of this drama there I am bringing him home.

#Well done if you remembered that Adolphus is the name Artie gave his non-existent twin brother in 'TNOT Skulls'


	10. Turkish Delight

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 10

 **Turkish Delight**

…I represent the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and we have had a complaint that a dog is being mistreated at this location." Artie held up his hand as he could see that Loveless was about to say something. "I'm sure there is nothing to the allegation," he hastened to add. "But I have a duty to look into the matter, as I'm sure you'll understand."

Artie's words went some way to appeasing Loveless who was already pleased to have met a fellow countryman. "I do understand your position but I do not own a dog."

"But, Mr Hayridge, the report is quite clear and barking was heard coming from this property."

Loveless smiled. "I see what has happened," he said. "My name is Doctor Loveless; the _previous_ tenant was Mr Hayridge."

Artie feigned enlightenment mixed with embarrassment. "Please accept my apologies," he said. "The problem is that these complaints sometimes take a while to reach our local office and Mr Hayridge must have moved out in the meantime. I'm sure you are not the sort of person to mistreat one of God's harmless creatures." ' _That's it, Artie, lay it on thick'_ , he thought.

"As a matter of fact I am an animal lover," Loveless said. "I own a rather beautiful cat."

"I love cats," Artie responded. "What is its name?"

"Brunhilde," Loveless said.

"And is she a noble cat as her name suggests?"

"Yes, she's a main coon."

"They have the most delightful ears. You are a lucky man. I do hope you will let me see her."

Loveless was very nearly purring himself at the accolades being given to his beloved cat but he hesitated at Artie's request. He had left Brunhilde in the basement room to guard James West. He was pretty certain that the tiny man could not escape but he had decided to take no chances. However, he was very tempted to take the risk of showing his fine cat to Mr Mayer. Suddenly he made up his mind and his face brightened.

"You shall see her," he said. "Come with me to the top of the basement steps and I will bring her up to you."

Artie beamed. "I should love to."

"Follow me!"

Loveless didn't like either of his henchmen to touch his cat so he went down to the basement himself. He left Artie at the basement entrance, went down the stairs and entered the bedroom where he had left Jim.

As soon as Artie learned of the basement he was certain that was where Loveless was keeping Jim prisoner. The henchmen were nowhere in sight so he quickly and silently ran down the steps to the basement and pushed the bedroom door open, knocking Loveless, who had an armful of cat, out of the way. He then drew the gun that had been tucked in the waistband at the back of his trousers and hidden by his jacket.

"Stay where you are," he said, "or I'll shoot you and your cat.

Loveless pulled Brunhilde closer to his chest and frowned at Artie. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Where's Jim?" Artie demanded at the same time as the cat started yowling. He looked around but couldn't see any sign of his partner.

Loveless suddenly realised what was happening. "So you are no longer in a coma, Mr Gordon," he said. "Mr West lied to me."

At the sound of her master's voice the cat quietened down and Artie could hear a small voice calling his name, "Artie! Artie!" It was coming from the cat carrier.

Artie looked at the cat box and then at Loveless. Was he some kind of ventriloquist? There was no way Jim could be in there. He would make sure though. He turned the key in the lock and opened the top of the cat carrier and looked inside to see a miniature version of Jim.

"Jim?" he queried, afraid to believe his own eyes.

"Artie, it's me. The antidote is on the m…..look out!"

The warning was too late. Artie began to turn his head but before he could there was an arm around his neck and a hand holding a cloth over his mouth. Just as Jim had before him, he fired his gun but it harmlessly hit the wall. And then the blackness came down like a dense fog and he fell to the carpet.

Artie's next experience was that of lying on a couch in the parlour of Loveless' house. He groaned because of his aching head and his dry mouth. He knew that he had been given chloroform. As he sat up he felt truly awful.

"I'm so glad you are back with us, Mr Gordon," he heard Loveless say. "It wouldn't be half so much fun without you."

"Loveless," Artie said, as if that explained everything. His voice was low and scratchy.

"You sound as if you could do with some water." Loveless clicked his fingers and the smaller of the two henchmen poured out a glass of water and handed it to Artie.

Artie drank the whole glassful and felt a lot better. "What have you done to Jim?" he asked.

"As I explained to your colleague Mr West, I intend to shrink the whole population of the United States. That way I shall be taller than everyone else. He is my guinea pig."

"You're mad," Artie said.

Loveless stamped his foot. "I am not mad, and you are as narrow-minded as Mr West. You don't recognise genius when you see it. I have achieved something that no-one has done before."

Artie rubbed his tired eyes.

"Are you hungry, Mr Gordon?" Loveless suddenly asked. "Dinner will be served in an hour but in the meantime, I have a box of delicious Turkish delight if you would like a piece. He picked up a plate from the table.

Artie considered the offer and decided he probably would feel a little better of he ate something. His last meal had been breakfast. So he took a piece of the confectionary, tapping a little of the icing sugar off onto the plate before putting it in his mouth. The rose flavour was not overly sweet, and he was happy to take a second and a third piece when they were offered to him. He looked over at Loveless and noticed that his grin seemed to be bigger and that the little doctor was going in and out of focus.

"Pardon me," Artie said, "I feel a little nauseous. Perhaps too much Turk….." And then he passed out.

"Artie, wake up Artie!"

"Leave me alone. I'm tired," Artie moaned.

"Artie, you've got to wake up," Jim said, shaking the other man's shoulder.

"Okay, okay, I'm waking up. This had better be important." Artie rubbed his eyes and then opened them. He took in Jim's presence and then looked around him, realising they were in some kind of box. "Holy…." He started.

"We're trapped inside a cat carrier," Jim clarified for him.

It was then that Artie looked down at himself. The clothes he had been wearing were gone and in their place was a suit of grey material with a white shirt and a matching grey cravat and a waistcoat of silver. "Hey, my clothes are really smart," he said. He took a good look at Jim. "Yeah, much smarter than yours."

Not that it mattered to Jim who didn't mind the comparison, only he did but he didn't consciously acknowledge it, but he was going to bring Artie down to earth with a thump.

"And guess who dressed you up in those clothes," he said, "The beautiful Antoinette, a kissing cousin of Doctor Loveless."

"Yes, Loveless introduced me to her, she is really beautiful," Artie said. "Boy, I wish I'd been awake for that," he said, with a wide grin.

Jim shook his head. He should have remembered that his partner had a lascivious side to him. Of course he would relish being naked with a beautiful woman around.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Get your mind off the ladies, Artie, we have to think of a way out of here and we have to get hold of the antidote."

"You know where it is?"

"Yes, Loveless showed it to me. It's in a phial on the mantelpiece."

"Why did he leave it in the same room where we are. Isn't that taking a risk?"

"Once you get to know the man you'll realise that he's done it to taunt us and to show off how clever and powerful he is because he's sure we can't outwit him."

"So what are we going to do?"

Just as Artie was asking that the box moved and they were thrown to the floor.

"What the…?" Artie exclaimed.

Then they heard the voice of one of the henchmen.

"Doctor Loveless wants you to eat dinner with him," he said.

The two men looked at each other. They were leaving the room with the antidote in it. Would they be brought back later or had they lost their chance?

To be continued


	11. Toy Town

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 11

 **Toy Town**

Dinner was served, quite reasonably, in the dining room. The cat carrier was deposited on a side table and Jim and Artie were lifted out by one of the henchmen. They were placed on the table cloth, on tiny chairs, at a tiny table as befitted their size.

Jim was fuming inside at the indignity but his face gave away nothing of his inner feelings.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Loveless said, playing the charming host. "I'm glad you could join us." He couldn't keep a slight smirk from his face.

"We just couldn't tear ourselves away," Artie replied. He had dropped his American accent now it was no longer necessary.

Jim simply nodded his head in acknowledgement of Loveless' words.

Artie looked round the table and saw that the only other person present was the beautiful Antoinette. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

The henchmen were serving the food and Artie thought they had probably cooked it as well.

Antoinette took it upon herself to cut up small portions for the two men so that they wouldn't go hungry. They had little knives and forks to eat it with.

While they ate, Loveless couldn't help questioning the two agents.

"How interesting it must be to see things from your perspective," he said.

"I can't speak for Artie," Jim said, "but from my perspective you are still a crazy megalomaniac and failed assassin."

Doctor Loveless banged his fist on the table, making even Antoinette jump. The two tiny agents had to hold onto their table to prevent being thrown from their chairs.

"Since I have demonstrated my genius to you on at least two separate occasions then I can only assume that you are _wilfully_ mistaking it for madness. You have also called me a failed assassin; well I can easily put that right by successfully assassinating you!"

He stood up, but Antoinette pulled at his sleeve to get his attention.

"My dear Miguelito," she said, "there is apple strudel for dessert; your favourite."

Loveless looked torn for a moment but then made a decision. "We can eat dessert after I have annihilated these two jackanapes," he said.

"Can't we have dessert first," Artie moaned. "I'm quite partial to apple strudel,"

Loveless pounded the table again. "You think you are very funny, Mr Gordon, but I will be the one laughing when you and Mr West are dead."

Artie and Jim looked at each other. Though they might be able to make jokes about it they realised this very well might be the end for them.

The two men were carried to a large room on the other side of the hallway to the parlour. The first thing they noticed was that track for a model railway had been laid out and covered most of the floor. It was elaborate, with tunnels and points and buffers. There were even stations and signals and little model people of about the same size as Artie and Jim. It would take a couple of minutes to complete one circuit of the layout.

There was a working steam engine and Loveless instructed one of his henchmen to get it ready. He did this by placing a block of a creamy-white substance in a metal pan which he then lit with a match before clipping it into position under the water-filled boiler of the engine.

"Do you see how the boiler is fuelled with metaldehyde," Loveless informed them. "Discovered by a German chemist, Justus von Liebig in 1835," he boasted.

It didn't take long before there was a good head of steam to power the engine, which had a tender attached and a series of carriages behind that.

Loveless made sure that Artie and Jim were tied hand and foot and placed on the footplate. Then he explained what was about to happen to them.

"The train will complete the circuit of the track three times then, on the fourth circuit the points will change and send the engine toward the buffers to which an explosive has been attached. When the engine makes contact with the buffers the whole train will be blown up, including the two of you." He laughed. "Another proof of my genius," he said.

"Or insanity," Jim mumbled so that Loveless couldn't hear him.

Artie chuckled.

Loveless pulled a lever and the train was soon going at a steady speed. He then left the room to avoid being caught by flying debris from the explosion and to eat his apple strudel.

Jim and Artie, with one mind manoeuvered themselves until they were sitting back to back which allowed them to untie each other's hands. They then untied the ropes around their own ankles.

"What now?" Jim asked.

"We need to climb on the tender and uncouple it from the engine," Artie said.

They managed to climb onto the tender but the engine was going so fast that it pulled the coupling taut and it couldn't be moved.

"Watch out!" Jim shouted as the train drew near to one of the tunnels. He and Artie laid themselves flat until the train emerged from the other side.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Jim asked. "I'm sort of counting on you."

Artie thought for a moment and then climbed back down to the footplate. The train was on its second circuit. He removed his jacket and tore a piece of his shirt off and wrapped it around his hand then he reached out through the cab window and pushed the hot brass lever that controlled the train's whistle from the horizontal to the vertical position; an action that resulted in a piercing, continuous shriek.

"What are you doing?" Jim shouted.

"The whistle will vent steam from the boiler causing the engine to slow down and then we can uncouple it from the train."

"Artie, you're a genius," Jim shouted, smiling hugely.

Sure enough the engine eventually slowed down sufficiently for them to uncouple the tender and they watched the engine move away from them. The tender and the rest of the train slowed to a crawl and the two men jumped off and ran to the far corner of the room, hunkering down with their arms over their heads.

The explosion, when it came was loud but the debris didn't reach as far as the corner where they were crouching. They were safe.

The door opened and Loveless came back into the room. He was smiling and rubbing his hands in expectation that he had been successful in eliminating his two enemies.

The rail layout had been mostly destroyed and what was left was damaged by flying debris. His henchmen searched through the pieces of the train and the buffer, but they found no sign of the two little men.

"They're not here," the tall, bearded one told Loveless.

The small Doctor jumped up and down in fury. "How could they have escaped?" he screamed. "Look for them, you dolts!"

As soon as Loveless and his henchmen were occupied with searching the remains of the toy railway Jim and Artie had taken the opportunity to run out of the open door and head for the basement steps. But they hadn't taken into account the whereabouts of Antoinette. She had been feeding Brunhilde some of her favourite apple strudel and was just coming out of the bedroom where they had been kept prisoner when she saw them attempting to make their way slowly down the stairs. In a moment she had scooped them up and they were her prisoners. Artie grinned at her while Jim scowled at the further indignity.

"It looks like you survived the train explosion," she said. "I wonder what Miguelito will do with you now?"

The two agents were wondering the same thing.

To be continued


	12. A Bumpy Ride

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 12

 **A Bumpy Ride**

The two tiny men didn't have to wait long to find out what Loveless had in store for them. They were taken back to the dining room and dropped inside the cat carrier once again, back to square one.

"Where do you think we're going to end up next?" Artie asked. He had been chided by Antoinette for ruining the shirt she had made him and losing his jacket in the explosion.

"Wherever it is it can't be worse than the train journey from hell we just experienced," Jim replied. His clothing was rumpled but intact. "How's the memory – did you recall anything from the last twenty years?"

"Bits and pieces, the knowledge of how that toy steam train worked for instance. I had seen it demonstrated at an exhibition in London. It just came to me the moment we were in trouble."

"Thank goodness it did. You saved our lives back there," Jim said.

"I also remember the German I learnt." He frowned and looked down at his hands. "I still don't remember you though, sorry."

"Don't worry," Jim told him. He was disappointed but not showing it as he smiled back at Artie. "I know you have my back even if it is just because we're on the same side."

Artie could read between the lines and he knew how disappointed Jim was. To read him that well maybe there was a part of his brain that _did_ remember him. He sighed. "What I wouldn't give for a nice cup of tea," he said.

"That's the Artie I know and love," Jim said with a laugh.

They felt the cat carrier being picked up and now they found that they had to sit on the floor in order not to be flung from side to side.

"I bet we're being carried by Loveless," Artie said. "He's obviously angry that we bested him in his version of Toy Town and now he's taking it out on us."

"I think you're right. One thing's for certain. We have to get our hands on that antidote. How did he manage to get you to inhale the shrinking powder by the way; was it a Havana cigar?"

"So that's what he used on you. He got me to eat the powder by disguising it in the icing sugar on some Turkish delight. I could kick myself for being so gullible."

"No more gullible than I was," Jim said. "Hold on, the box has stopped moving. I wonder where we are."

The top of the box opened and the two agents looked up into Loveless' face.

"As it is late in the day I'm going to leave you here overnight," he said. "You thwarted my plans today but you won't be so lucky tomorrow."

"No chance of any apple strudel then?" Artie asked.

Loveless frowned. "No!" he said.

"A cup of tea?" Artie persisted.

Loveless didn't even answer him. He slammed the lid shut and locked it. Afterwards they heard his footsteps receding into the distance and then there was silence.

"Well I did my best," Artie said. "You'd think he would at least feed us so that we last until tomorrow. I shall be really annoyed if he doesn't give us any breakfast."

Jim smiled and stood up. "You needn't worry that we'll be here tomorrow; I sneaked one of Antoinette's hairpins into the inside of my jacket when she picked us up off the stairs. We can use it as a lockpick."

"James, my boy, you're a genius. Here, climb up on me so you can reach the lock."

Artie cupped his hands and Jim put his boot in them and hoisted himself up onto his partner's shoulders. It took a while to manoeuvre the hairpin into the correct position as it was so big compared to his hands and there was no light except for that which got in through the air holes. But after a while there was an audible click followed by,

"There done it," Jim said.

He threw the lid back and climbed out on top of the cat carrier. He looked around and then leaned back in so that Artie could hear what he was saying.

"You're not going to believe this, Artie, we're back in the basement room and I can see the antidote. It's still on the mantelpiece."

"Great," Artie replied, proving that some memory of their American lessons were coming back without him even noticing. Jim gave him a puzzled look though.

"Get up here, Artie," he said, holding his arms out to him. Artie used his feet to help brace himself against the inside of the box so as not to put all his weight on his partner and they were soon both sitting on edge of the top of the cat carrier.

There was a lighted lamp on the table next to the bed and Artie couldn't help thinking that it was odd for Loveless to have given them some light when he had left them for the night, presumably expecting them to get some sleep before he killed them, or tried to, tomorrow.

The reason made itself apparent when they heard a purring noise and suddenly Brunhilde woke up from her comfortable position on the bed. How could they not have seen her?

"Oh no," Jim said. "What do we do now?"

"Well I for one am not going back into that blasted box in fear of a domesticated cat," Artie said forcefully.

Jim chuckled. "Neither am I," he said. "But don't worry, I think I have an idea but it's a long shot and potentially dangerous."

"Well I'll definitely take your advice and not worry then," Artie said, rolling his eyes.

Jim chuckled again.

"I know I'm going to regret it but what is this plan of yours?" Artie asked.

"We need to entice the cat over here and when I say 'now' we jump on her back."

"I'm sorry," Artie said, "I must have misheard you. I thought you said you had a plan; that sounds more like a suicide pact."

"Trust me, Artie. Here, kittie, kittie!"

Artie looked at Jim and shook his head. The boy obviously had no idea about cats. He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted "Oi!" loudly.

The cat looked over at the source of the noise, unwound herself, stretched, and came over to the box to see what all the fuss was about. She prowled around the bottom of the table they were on and then she silently and sinuously insinuated her lithe body onto the table.

"Now!" Jim shouted.

To say that the cat was startled when two six-inch-tall men jumped onto her back would be an understatement. As they dug their knees into her sides and gripped her long fur in their hands Brunhilde went completely crazy trying to dislodge them. She ran around the room, onto the bed, off the bed, up the wall and then back on the bed. The two men were finding it hard to maintain their hold. But Jim could have sworn he heard Artie shout "Yeehah!" at one point. Then the cat jumped from the bed to the mantelpiece and Jim took his chance, using one foot to kick out at the phial which held the antidote. It toppled from the shelf and landed on the carpeted floor at the same time as Brunhilde.

The two men jumped from her back and ran to the phial. There was a cork in the top and the two men looked at each other in dismay. How were they going to dislodge that? It was then they noticed that the cat had become very interested in them and the yowling noise she was making didn't give them any confidence that she was likely to be friendly.

Suddenly one angry, clawed paw reached out toward them. They braced themselves against the attack.

To be continued


	13. The Antidote

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 13

 **The Antidote**

The phial was only two inches long so the two men were able to lift it between them and in their panic tried to fend off the cat with it. Brunhilde simply clamped her sharp little teeth onto the cork and pulled at it, in an attempt to disarm them.

"Let go, you stupid cat!" Artie yelled.

Brunhilde's gaze was firmly on the phial and Jim realised that if the cork gave way at that moment then the phial would flip over backward and the contents would be lost.

"Hold on tight!" he told Artie. "I'm going to try something."

Artie nodded and Jim left him holding the phial and ran off to the side in an effort to distract the cat. Artie couldn't lift the phial on his own so he let it drop down and balanced it on the floor. The cat, still attached to the cork by her teeth, turned her head to look at Jim and as she did so she pulled the cork out and the phial began to fall sideways. Jim ran toward Artie and caught the top end of the container as it came down. It was heavy enough for him to have to exert quite a lot of force but he was physically fit and he just about managed it.

Never having had a cork at her mercy before, Brunhilde was intent on killing it now that she had it captive. This involved quite a bit of chasing it around the floor thus leaving the two agents free to carry out the next part of Jim's plan. He and Artie lowered the phial carefully to the carpet. Some of the precious antidote poured out but there was plenty still inside the container as it narrowed where the opening was.

Artie put his arm inside the phial and lifted some of the liquid out in his cupped hand. He put it to his mouth and drank it. Jim did the same and then they continued to do this until they realised that Brunhilde was heading in their direction again.

"Quick!" Artie said, "get underneath the bed!"

The bed was a mere 12 inches away and they ran as fast as they could but Brunhilde was quicker. She snagged Artie's left leg with her paw and clawed at him.

"Aaarrgh!" Artie shouted. "Jim!"

Jim looked back out from under the bed and saw Brunhilde swatting at Artie with her claws. He was about to go out and help him when he felt something strange happening. He felt like his head and stomach were both about to explode and he had tingling pains in his arms and legs. The next moment he was back to his normal size and the space under the bed had become tight.

Artie had undergone the same transformation and it scared the cat so much she squealed loudly and leapt into the air before running to hide under the bed with Jim. Artie was now completely naked but lying on his front, something he was grateful for, considering he was being mauled by a feline just before.

Artie," Jim said, "do you want me to throw you something to cover yourself with?"

"No, it's fine," Artie replied standing up. "I suspect our clothing is hanging in the wardrobe over there. Anyway, it won't be the first time you've seen me like this."

Artie walked over to the wardrobe and gave a satisfied "aha" when he found his outfit hanging there along with Jim's, even their underwear. He started to get dressed. "Do you want me to pass your clothes to you?" he asked his partner.

When Jim didn't answer straight away he looked over at him. He was still under the bed where he had been stroking Brunhilde but his hand had stilled and he was frowning in thought.

"Jim?"

"When did I see you naked, Artie?" he asked.

Artie smiled. "It was when you persuaded me to go with you to that Turkish bath and I had the mishap with the towel. Don't you remember?"

"Of course I do," Jim said, smiling. "And it looks like you do too now."

Artie cocked his head to one side, looking puzzled, and then he realised what Jim was talking about. "I got my memory back," he said, laughing. "It must have been the jolt to my brain caused by it changing back to its correct size."

Jim smiled at him and started to crawl out from under the bed, bringing Brunhilde with him. He held her in a strategic position and said, "pass me my clothes please, Artie."

Brunhilde had been through a lot and it was still the middle of the night so she was grateful when Jim deposited her on the comfortable bed and she settled down for a good long sleep; none of those catnaps for her.

Jim found that the lockpick was still secreted under his lapel so they used it on the bedroom door lock and then trod their way silently up the steps to the ground floor and found the stairs leading to the bedrooms. Hopefully everyone would be fast asleep.

That turned out to be a vain hope as one of the henchmen appeared at the top of the stairs and Jim, with a nod to Artie, ran up to tackle him. They met halfway. It was the larger of Loveless' men, the one with the beard, but he was no match for Jim's backstreet style of fighting and was soon laid out cold at the bottom of the stairs.

Jim straightened out his hair and went looking for Loveless while Artie searched for Antoinette.

Jim found Loveless in the first bedroom he came to. He walked over to him where he was lying asleep in bed and placed his hand over his mouth. This had the double effect of waking him up and preventing him from crying out and so alerting everyone as to what was happening.

"Shhhh!" Jim whispered. I'm going to take my hand away and I want you to get dressed and then we'll leave here together. If you make a noise I will kill you," he finished, showing him the knife he had pulled out from where it was hidden in his collar.

Loveless swallowed nervously and nodded to show he understood. Because he was more than willing to kill James West, he assumed that Jim was not bluffing when he threatened to return the favour. He was wrong – mostly.

"Come on," Jim said, taking his hand from Loveless' mouth and pulling back the bedclothes.

"Mr West," Loveless said.

"No talking!" Jim growled.

"I just want to tell you how much I admire you for having escaped Brunhilde and gotten hold of the antidote. I thoroughly underestimated you."

Jim frowned. "You should be getting used to it by now," he said.

Artie checked the other bedrooms and came up empty-handed. There was no sign of Antoinette and none of the beds looked as if they had been slept in. Artie went back to join Jim.

"There's no sign of Antoinette," he said.

Loveless smiled at them. "I sent her away after dinner," he said. "I had no further use of her sewing skills and I intended to follow her in the morning once I had packed up everything and handed back the keys. I would have taken you with me and kept you as pets until I thought of some way of killing you that is worthy of you."

"It sounds like he's telling the truth, Jim," Artie said.

Jim nodded. Antoinette doesn't really matter," he said. "The president is only interested in Loveless, though I would like to see her pay for helping him."

"Before we leave there is something I'd like to do," Artie said. "I shan't be long."

While looking for Antoinette Artie had found a room that was fitted out as a laboratory. Presumably that was where Loveless had manufactured the bomb he used on the toy railway. He was intrigued to know what else he would find.

There was a glass cabinet with containers on the shelves. Artie opened them one by one and found small balls of different colours inside them. He thought that, knowing Loveless, they were probably smoke bombs or knock-out bombs. He took a few of each and put them in his pockets. He would analyse them when he got the chance and try to reverse engineer them. There was also a mechanism that he and Jim had discussed earlier, that allowed a small pistol to be secreted up the sleeve to be drawn at the flick of a wrist. There was the appropriate derringer to go with it. He took off his jacket and fitted it to his own arm thinking that Jim would be impressed when he demonstrated it.

All of this only took a few minutes and he had soon caught up with his partner who had placed Loveless on Nightfall's back and was about to jump up behind him. He had brought Ariadne round from the stables as well and Artie got on her back and followed Jim.

Together they rode away from the house and headed back to the Traveller with Artie giving directions. They went through Gerhard Flats and Artie dropped off the keys to the house at the land office, telling them that they shouldn't go out there until they were contacted by the Secret Service to tell them it was safe to do so. The last he saw of the man behind the counter he was standing with his mouth wide open as Artie waved him good-bye.

To be continued


	14. The Prisoner

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 14

 **The Prisoner**

On arrival at the Traveller, Artie and Jim escorted Loveless to the cell in the stable car and locked him in.

"You can't leave me here," Loveless complained.

"It's not for long," Jim said. "We'll let you out once we find a way to stop you running off, though I don't suppose even you would be mad enough to jump from a fast-moving train."

"Why must you always use that word 'mad' in connection with me?" Loveless asked angrily.

"Maybe you should take the opportunity to make me change my mind on the journey to Washington," Jim said.

Loveless scowled.

Jim went into town to find Otis and Nate while Artie sent a telegraph to Colonel Richmond. There was quite a lot to tell him. While Jim was in town he took the time to visit the local sheriff and inform him of his status and mission. The man was happy to let him have a set of leg irons and handcuffs.

The first thing Nate did when he returned was arrange a schedule for the Traveller to take them back to Washington that would be acceptable to the railroad company. They finally set off just after two in the afternoon.

Artie had made lunch for everyone, which Loveless ate in his cell.

During lunch the two agents had a chance to catch up.

"What did Washington have to say?" Jim asked.

Artie swallowed the mouthful of food he had been chewing. "The Colonel sent his congratulations of course," he said. "He wants a full written report by the time we reach Washington, so I guess that's down to me." He looked meaningfully at Jim who grinned back at him. There was a tacit agreement between them; Jim handled the brunt of the fighting and Artie took care of the paperwork. As Artie pointed out from the beginning of their partnership, back in London, he was the senior by fifteen years. It helped that Jim loved the adrenaline high that combat gave him.

When they had finished a nice cup of coffee the two men went to visit Loveless in the stable car and unlocked his cell. He didn't complain when they fitted the restraints on him. He would do just about anything at that point to get out of the tiny cell and find somewhere more fitting for a man of his stature.

Jim took Loveless to the parlour car and sat him down in the armchair. Artie followed.

"Now then," Jim began, "we have a few questions for you."

"I shall answer your questions," Loveless replied "but only if you answer mine first."

Jim sighed and then said, "Go ahead."

"Why have you come all the way from England to capture me? Is there no-one in this vast country who could have done that job as well as if not better than you?"

Jim saw no problem with telling the diminutive doctor the truth. "Colonel Richmond of the US Secret Service asked for us specifically as we had dealt with you before over the attempted assassination of Queen Victoria and we had encountered a similar situation in England to the one you were causing in New Mexico. That is why our head of department agreed to send us. We didn't choose this assignment; we're here under orders."

Loveless grinned.

"It's your turn to answer our questions now," Jim said.

"Of course," Loveless said, "what do you want to know?"

Jim looked at Artie, who frowned back at him. He hadn't realised they were going to interrogate Loveless. Jim gave him a look that said trust me and then turned back to their prisoner.

"Why did you leave Nueva Atenas and travel to Oklahoma?" he asked.

Loveless' grin grew wider. "What would you say if I told you I was never in New Mexico?"

Jim's eyes narrowed. "I'd say you were lying because President Grant himself said you were and he wouldn't make a statement like that unless his sources were sure of the fact."

"Oh, Mr West," Loveless said, shaking his head ruefully. "You are altogether too trusting."

Artie couldn't help interrupting at this point. "What you are saying makes no sense. If there was not a problem, then why would the US Government request our help and bring us all the way here from England?"

"Perhaps it will help if I answer Mr West's question," Loveless said. "I was in Oklahoma waiting for you because I knew that your train would be travelling through that particular territory and at that particular time. Now ask yourselves how I knew that."

The two agents looked at each other. Their questioning had taken a strange turn somewhere. Artie beckoned to Jim and they moved to a corner of the carriage where they could not be heard by Loveless.

"That's a good question, Jim," Artie whispered. "How _did_ he know the train's route and timetable?"

"The only people who knew were you and I, Nate and Otis, and Colonel Richmond of course."

"Well it wasn't us and I can't believe it was any of the others," Artie whispered.

"Do you think Loveless bribed one of the Government clerks in Washington who had access to the information?"

"We could ask him," Artie said sotto voce.

"Yes, but would he tell us the truth?" Jim asked.

"Surely he has nothing to lose now."

"Unless he's relying on that person to help him when we get back to Washington."

"Perhaps, but it's at least worth a try," Artie said.

"All right," Jim agreed, "but I still want to get to the bottom of why he insists he was never in Nueva Atenas and that we were brought to America for a different reason than the one I gave him."

"You're right," said Artie, "There's something going on that we don't know about. We need to get Loveless to talk before we get back to Washington."

They both nodded in agreement and turned back to their prisoner.

"Now then Loveless," Artie began, "Who told you our plans? Which clerk did you bribe?"

Loveless laughed out loud. "You still don't get it do you?" he said. "And I thought you were so clever."

The two agents looked puzzled.

"Allow me to enlighten you, gentlemen. After what happened in London I lost the substantial fee I would have been paid to assassinate Her Majesty Queen Victoria. On top of that I left the torpedo behind so no doubt your government will have been able to produce a copy of it. I can never return to my beloved Germany again and neither could I stay in England, so I was forced to come here to the United States of America. The first thing on my mind was to take revenge on you but I also wanted revenge on the country that denied me sanctuary even though I was a son to her and a genius son at that – Germany. At first, I spent time blending in, changing my name and learning to speak with an American accent. Then I realised that the people of this country were fools as well. They refused to take me seriously; they saw only my height and treated me with disdain because of it. so I developed the shrinking powder to cut them down to size."

"And how were you going to take revenge on Germany?" Jim asked.

"That took a lot of planning. News of my crime had not followed me across the Atlantic thanks to the British Prime Minister not wanting news of any threat to the monarch getting out and so I could gain entry to select parties and I made sure to make the acquaintance of the daughter of the German Ambassador to the United States. At the beginning, I thought if I could separate her from her father I could kidnap her and hold the Government to ransom. But it was easier than I thought because she fell in love with me – well with the fact that I was an evil genius; she readily came with me. You have met her."

"Antoinette!" Artie exclaimed. "But you said she was your cousin."

"I could hardly tell you who she really was now could I?"

"So why did you send her away last night?" Jim asked.

"Because I made a deal with Colonel Richmond to return her in exchange for you, you dolt!"

"What!?" Artie exclaimed. He found he was doing that a lot recently.

"Let me spell it out for you," Loveless continued. "It was Colonel Richmond and President Grant's idea to make up the tale about Nueva Atenas after Richmond found out about the case you dealt with in the north of England. The similarity of the situation and your knowledge of me was enough for them to persuade your boss to send you over here. They then sent me details of your itinerary; you have been duped, gentlemen." He laughed again.

To be continued


	15. Should We Stay or Should We Go?

**The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2**

 **Welcome to America**

Chapter 15

 **Should We Stay, or Should We Go?**

Loveless remained in the parlour car while Jim and Artie discussed what he had told them.

"I don't want to believe him," Artie said, "but it does fit the facts."

"We only have his word that he wasn't in New Mexico," Jim pointed out, "and he could have bribed someone to tell him where the Traveller would be."

"Why would he concoct such an elaborate lie though? He's headed for a cell in Federal Prison no matter what."

"That's true but maybe he just wants to make sure we return to England by turning us against the US Government."

"I would have thought he'd want us to stay here. It would be easier to kill us that way," Artie said.

"But he probably has agents in Europe who would be happy to carry out his killing for him as soon as they hear he's in prison."

"Well Jim, we don't have to make any decisions yet so let's just make the most of the journey. By the way, I forgot to show you this."

Artie flicked his wrist to activate the mechanism that caused a small gun to fall into his hand.

"That's great Artie, you found one of those mechanisms we were talking about earlier, from the 'Cowboy Thrill Magazine'. Where did you get it from?"

"It was in Loveless' laboratory. I picked up some other things as well, knock out bombs I think. Anyway, I put them away safely in the weapons cabinet. I wouldn't want Loveless to get hold of them."

"Good idea," Jim said.

The two men glanced over at Loveless who was still handcuffed and in ankle chains and was reading a book they had lent him to keep him occupied.

"At least one of us should keep an eye on him at all times, when he's not in his cell," Artie said.

"Agreed."

The rest of the journey to Washington was uneventful. Whenever the horses needed to be exercised one of the agents would ride their own horse and lead the other by its reins while the other agent would clean out the stable car and Loveless sat in his cell and watched.

Loveless seemed to relish the turmoil he had caused in the minds of his two captors by his revelations. He was certain that once they had locked him in his cell at night and went to their sleeping quarters they discussed his assertions and worried about what would happen once they reached Washington. But Loveless was wrong.

Lying in bed, Artie was looking up at the ceiling, but he was concentrating on what he could see in his mind's eye.

"I can't wait until we reach Washington," he said. "I need to find a laboratory so that I can begin work on backward engineering those things I found at Loveless' hideout."

Jim smiled in the dark. "I just want to find a beautiful woman and take her out to dinner and maybe a dance."

"I don't see why I shouldn't do both," Artie was quick to assert. He wasn't going to let Jim have all the fun.

They had agreed not to think about what Loveless had told them and they stuck to it.

Artie had telegraphed to Colonel Richmond ahead of their arrival so as soon as the Traveller pulled into the rail yard several soldiers appeared to escort Doctor Loveless from the train.

The Colonel approached the two agents with a wary expression on his face.

"Well done, gentlemen," he said, shaking their hands. "I have a carriage waiting to take you to see the President. He'll want to thank you in person."

"Thank you, Colonel," Jim answered. "Mr Gordon and I would like to have a word with both of you." He didn't wait for the other man's response to this but headed straight for the carriage with Artie in his wake.

The journey to the White House was rather awkward as Jim had an expression on his face that dared anyone to speak to him and Artie had a wry smile on his. Colonel Richmond knew that neither portended a friendly reception to anything he or Grant might have to say. He decided therefore to keep quiet for the time being.

This time the two men were escorted openly to the President's office and from the look on Grant's face as they entered, they knew that he knew that they knew. However, forced to play the part of the diplomat, the President smiled at them and shook their hands.

"I am indebted to you," he said.

Jim and Artie sat themselves down in chairs opposite Grant's desk without being invited to and Grant made a slight coughing sound in his throat as he prepared himself for what was to come.

"I take it that Doctor Loveless spoke to you," he said.

Artie was the one to answer. "We didn't want to believe the things he told us but your demeanour since we arrived back makes it look suspiciously as if he was telling the truth."

"You have to understand…," Colonel Richmond jumped in.

"Oh, but we do understand, Colonel, you lied to us and then sent us out there to bring in a dangerous criminal, knowing that his one aim was to kill us and that was after you had told him exactly where we would be, so that he could find us and achieve that aim. Does that just about sum it up?"

"No not quite," Grant answered him, "because you left out the part where Loveless had a young woman held captive; the daughter of the German Ambassador and if we failed to return her to him alive and well it would have caused a diplomatic incident."

Jim stood up and faced Colonel Richmond.

"Then why didn't you just send us on a mission to rescue her? Why did you have to lie to us?" Jim demanded.

"Because if you failed he might have killed her or taken her somewhere that we would never find her. But if we gave him you we were guaranteed to get her back."

"You must admit, Jim, that it makes a lot of sense when seen from their point of view," Artie chipped in.

"I don't think our superiors at the Foreign Office will see it quite that way though," Jim threatened.

Artie smiled. "There is that," he said, looking President Grant straight in the eyes. "You might have averted a diplomatic incident with Germany only to have caused one with Great Britain." He picked up on the subtle change in Grant's expression. "Of course," he continued, as something occurred to him. "Our government weren't supposed to know anything about this because you didn't expect us to come back alive." He laughed outright at that thought. "Boy, are you in a pickle."

Colonel Richmond strode into the breach. "Look, we're sorry it turned out this way, not that you didn't die of course," he quickly reassured them, "but that we had to lie to you. However, it's obvious to me now that you are just the sort of men we're looking for in the Secret Service. What about staying in America and working for me? I'll pay you double what you earn at the Foreign Office."

Jim and Artie looked at each other and Jim voiced their joint opinion.

"How could we ever be able to trust you?" he asked.

Grant frowned. "We got off on the wrong foot, boys," he said, "and I know it was because of what we did but I guess we just looked on you as a couple of Limeys. But if you were properly working for us as part of the Secret Service you'd be valuable assets and there's no way that would happen again. What do you say?"

Artie scratched his forehead. "Well, what do you say, Jim?"

"I say we need to sleep on it," Jim said. "You can expect a visit from us tomorrow morning." With that he nodded to Grant and Richmond and stalked out of the room.

"Gentlemen," Artie said by way of good-bye and went after him.

"Well, what do _you_ think?" Grant asked the Colonel. "Is there a chance in hell they'll agree?"

Colonel Richmond smiled for the first time since the Traveller arrived that morning. "I don't know but I really hope they do."

"Just in case you'd better get started on the paperwork to make it possible for two members of the British Foreign Office to work full time for the US government."

"I'll get right on it, Sir."

When Jim and Artie left the White House one of Colonel Richmond's agents was waiting to convey them to their hotel. They didn't speak until they arrived at their destination.

"Well this room is better than the ones we stayed in before," Artie said, taking in the twin beds and the sink.

Jim tipped the porter and then turned to his friend. "I don't know about you but I'm ready for some lunch," he said.

Artie nodded and after washing their hands and combing their hair they went back downstairs to the restaurant.

Once seated at their table, Jim spoke. "We need to have a serious talk about whether we are going to stay here or go back to the Foreign Office," he said.

Artie smiled. "Can't you let me eat something first? I'm famished."

Jim smiled back. "Okay," he said.

They ate steak pie with mashed potatoes and sweetcorn. They'd never eaten that vegetable before and decided they liked it.

"Would you like dessert?" Jim asked.

For once in his life Artie declined. "But I could really do with a cup of coffee," he said. They had only drunk water with their lunch.

"Same here," Jim agreed.

Thankfully just then the waiter appeared with a jug of coffee and filled their cups.

Both men took a sip of the hot liquid.

"That's better," Artie said, "I'm ready to talk now. What are your thoughts on the matter, having heard what Richmond and the President had to say and the fact we've been offered double our current salary?"

"They seem pretty keen to keep us here to work for them," Jim said before taking a mouthful of coffee

"Yeah," Artie agreed, "but that might be because they're afraid of what will happen if we go back to England and Carruthers finds out what happened."

Jim nodded. "You have a good point."

"But it did sound as if we could do valuable work here," Artie added.

"We do valuable work for the Foreign Office," Jim argued.

"Yeah, but it rains an awful lot."

Jim gave Artie a stare. "Since when have you started saying 'yeah' all the time?"

"Do I?" Artie asked. "I hadn't noticed."

Jim went slightly pale. "And we're drinking coffee!" he exclaimed.

"And enjoying it. Jim, do you think we're…."

"Yes, Artie, I think we're becoming American."

They both looked at each other aghast. Then they burst out laughing.

"I guess we've kind of made up our minds then," Artie said.

Jim nodded. "I think we should give this country a go."

"Me too," Artie agreed. "I'll tell you what though, I want them to give us The Traveller and I want it fitted with a proper laboratory and I want the Colonel to introduce us to some beautiful women."

"Well that's all settled then," Jim said. "Shall we tell Richmond now?"

"No, it can wait until tomorrow. Right now, I want some more coffee and I wonder if they have any of those cookies…you know the ones with the…."

Jim had stopped listening. He had imagined that if Artie ever forsook his love of tea and biscuits the world would tilt on its axis, but everything seemed fine to him, in fact more than fine; he was actually quite excited by the prospect of what lay ahead of them in their new country. Then it dawned on him. They'd never have to see Loveless again but there was every chance they might run into Antoinette whenever they were in Washington. They'd have to just hope that she was not indelicate enough to tell anyone what she had seen.

"Jim are you all right?" Artie asked, "You've gone all red in the face. Jim, are you blushing?"

"Yep….I mean Nope."

FIN

With apologies for the rushed ending.


End file.
